SUPERSONIC MAN

Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★★

“entertains with a heartwarming tale of courage in the face of adversity”

Just to get a couple of things out of the way to begin with. The title of Chris Burgess’ new musical, “Supersonic Man”, is misleading. So is the Marvel comic styled publicity artwork. Oh, and also the backdrop of David Shields’ set that depicts an over-sized ‘Greetings from Brighton’ postcard. None of this does remotely does what it says on the tin. Whether intentional or not, that is in fact a blessing. If you ignore the packaging and leave behind any preconceptions you might have, you are in for a real treat.

The ‘supersonic man’ in question is a young chap called Adam (Dylan Aiello), living a charmed life with his partner Darryl (Dominic Sullivan) in Brighton, surrounded by good chums Shaz (Mali Wen Davies), Ruth (Jude St. James) and Ben (James Lowrie). It has a feel of the ‘Friends’ sitcom about it, but this dissipates as it morphs through other genres and influences. This chameleon quality is a reflection of the writing. We think it is going to be a biographical account of the real-life character, Peter Scott-Morgan, whose battle with motor neurone disease was famously chronicled in the TV documentary ‘Peter: The Human Cyborg’. But, as Burgess has said, his musical is ‘loosely inspired by’, rather than ‘based on’, Scott-Morgan’s story and consequently reveals more about the human spirit in general.

And spirit is something this musical has in spades. Burgess isn’t afraid to give the serious subject matter a camp, glossy and comedic veneer. One that makes us laugh and tap our feet along to the catchy numbers, but one that doesn’t conceal the message either. Adam and Darryl’s life together is shattered when Adam is diagnosed with the disease. The short and long-term reactions are portrayed with integrity and without sentimentality. Aiello manages to mix the strength of Adam’s resolve to fight with a confused and lost anger that just wants to lash out. Sullivan’s Darryl is the force that keeps him going, along with Davies’ brilliant, no-nonsense Shaz, St. James’ solidly empowering Ruth and Lowrie’s cheerfully mocking yet motivating Ben. Yes, the focus is on Adam, but this is a close-knit ensemble. With a fair bit of multi-rolling thrown in.

The share of the songs is equally democratic, although Sullivan does seem to have been dealt the best hand here. His number, ‘The Life We Live’, is a keenly observed and moving ballad, with a touch of Barry Manilow’s ‘Could it be Magic’. That could well sound like an insult, but in context it is actually a huge compliment. (Oh – a quick note: in the absence of a song list, I’m giving the numbers my own titles… apologies to Burgess in advance if they are misnamed). Later, ‘Give Me A Voice’ is a gem steeped in metaphor and double meaning. The cast may not have the strongest voices, but they do capture the energy and character of Burgess’ lyrics.

Already a successful author and expert in robotics, Peter Scott-Morgan embraced every technology going in order to fight the progression of his disease, using himself as a test subject to help the cause of others with extreme disability. The Channel 4 documentary celebrated the story. Burgess, however, uses the parallel to expose the media’s cynicism. A domestic argument caught on camera is described as ‘TV gold’. One-liners pepper the text that on the surface are throwaways but, on closer inspection, shield a wealth of meaning. ‘I am in denial of being in denial’ quips Adam. ‘Jesus loves you’ he is told, to which he wryly replies, ‘tell him he’s not my type’. As the show progresses, the comedy gives way to poignancy. ‘I want you to be my lover, not my carer’. The show also drifts away from reality into dreamscape, reminiscent of the Bob Fosse ‘All That Jazz’ biopic. While Adam lies on the operating table, we witness his thoughts and dreams during a surreal, out of body sequence.

Richard Lambert’s atmospheric lighting constantly adapts to the varying sequences of the show, while musical director Aaron Clingham’s arrangements suit the mood of each number. Some of the musical staging is a bit repetitive and overall, the show does have rough edges. An epilogue feels like an afterthought, but it is still deeply moving, and the show is truly celebratory. We have spent the best part of two hours laughing (sometimes guiltily) and enjoying some catchy tunes. We have also been surreptitiously given a lesson. Sly, eh? Still, they say the best way to get people to listen is to entertain them. “Supersonic Man” definitely entertains with a heartwarming tale of courage in the face of adversity, with a powerfully honest love story running through it.

SUPERSONIC MAN

Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 11th April 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Louis Burgess

Previously reviewed at this venue:

WILKO | ★★★ | March 2025

SON OF A BITCH | ★★★★ | February 2025

SCISSORHANDZ | ★★★ | January 2025

CANNED GOODS | ★★★ | January 2025

THE MASSIVE TRAGEDY OF MADAME BOVARY | ★★★ | December 2024

THE HAPPIEST MAN ON EARTH | ★★★★★ | November 2024

[TITLE OF SHOW] | ★★★ | November 2024

THE UNGODLY | ★★★ | October 2024

FOREVERLAND | ★★★★ | October 2024

JULIUS CAESAR | ★★★ | September 2024

SUPERSONIC MAN

★★

“Nick Winston’s staging is slick but lacks pace and energy”

Apparently, John Schlesinger’s 1969 American film “Midnight Cowboy” is the only X-Rated film to win the Best Picture Academy Award. Despite its bleak setting and outlook, the story of an unlikely friendship between two lost souls in New York City has been variously described as one of the greatest films of the sixties, and later deemed ‘culturally, historically and aesthetically significant’. Based on James Leo Herlihy’s novel of the same name, its success – according to the director – was largely down to its brutal exploration of loneliness. Both the film and the novel captured the quality of its time place in American cultural history.

Fast forward half a century and the ground-breaking story washes up in the hands of dramatist Bryony Lavery and songwriter Francis ‘Eg’ White who have shoehorned the bromantic fairy-tale of New York into a two-and-a-half-hour slice of musical theatre. A few years ago, we might have been more surprised, but as we have become acclimatised to outlandish choices for a musical’s subject matter, we have learnt to take this sort of thing in our stride. Claiming to be based on the novel, in reality “Midnight Cowboy – A New Musical” duplicates the film’s narrative by doing away with the central character’s back story and presenting it in disjointed flashbacks which, in this medium, get lost in the mix.

Joe Buck (Paul Jacob French) is a naïve yet damaged individual escaping his dead-end life in Texas by reinventing himself as a cowboy and heading off to New York to become a male prostitute. Success doesn’t come easy, to the point that he even pays his first client instead of the other way around. Hooking up with Rico ‘Ratso’ Rizzo (Max Bowden), he thinks his fortunes are on the rise until he discovers the rat Ratso has taken him for a ride. A mutual dependence grows, however, and after Joe moves into Ratso’s squalid squat, each individual’s isolation finds meaning and connection in a world of hustlers and ne’er-do-wells.

Nick Winston’s staging is slick but lacks pace and energy, and we never feel the full force of the unexpected chemistry between the protagonists. Despite strong performances we remain unconvinced, and neither do we feel their desperation. Similarly, Joe Buck’s encounters steer clear of gritty realism. However, whenever we are drawn in, we are suddenly denied access by a song that comes out of nowhere. Francis ‘Eg’ White has form as a songwriter, and there is no denying that there are a fair few excellent numbers, but the score is too often at odds with the text. There are exceptions. Tori Allen-Martin’s gorgeously smoky voice curls round the sultry, soul-disco chords of ‘Whatever it is You’re Doing’. We are in Serge Gainsbourg territory here, with a soft-porn gloss. Bowden’s ‘Don’t Give Up on Me Now’ has a real Tom Waits quality, reprised later by French who throws in shades of Randy Newman. Elsewhere, however, the songs tend to halt the narrative or simply cloud the intent. ‘Every Inch of this Earth is a Church’ strips away the inherent comedy of the classic scene where Joe Buck mistakes a religious fanatic for a pimp. And blow jobs and ballads have never been known to go well together.

It could be ground-breaking, and there is at times a surreal, cartoon-like quality to the show. But it cannot conceal the tameness of this interpretation. As if sensing the emotional detachment, French cranks up the passion during the closing scene, but we feel that it is unearned and inauthentic. There is poignancy in there somewhere, but like the dreams of the hapless heroes, it remains out of reach.

SUPERSONIC MAN

Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★★

“entertains with a heartwarming tale of courage in the face of adversity”

SUPERSONIC MAN

Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 11th April 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Louis Burgess

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SUPERSONIC MAN

SUPERSONIC MAN

SUPERSONIC MAN

MIDNIGHT COWBOY

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

★★

“Nick Winston’s staging is slick but lacks pace and energy”

MIDNIGHT COWBOY

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Reviewed on 10th April 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MIDNIGHT COWBOY

MIDNIGHT COWBOY

MIDNIGHT COWBOY

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