York Theatre Royal – Wednesday 12 April 2023
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4****
Buffy Revamped, written and performed by Brendan Murphy, is a one-man celebration and parody of the popular 1990’s show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Directed by Hamish MacDougall, and at only 70 minutes, this show covers all 7 seasons, the entire 144 episodes, as told through the eyes of Spike, the iconic vampire from the series.
Though Murphy is predominantly Spike, who I must admit was my favourite, he also plays all the top characters, Buffy, her Scooby gang and the forces of darkness, from the entire series through different means. His depictions of the characters are quite hilarious and encapsulate each personality perfectly. For Buffy there’s a wig and a dress, Angel is just a long black leather coat on a hanger, Xander a shirt and later an eye patch, just examples of the many, all accompanied by different voices, mannerisms, and actions. The contempt Spike showed for Angel through that medium is inspired and gloriously funny.
Flying through each season, Murphy enacts a quick re-enactment of pivotal moments. This resonated with a lot of the packed-out theatre, who couldn’t help but laugh at Murphy’s interpretations. There is some audience participation, if you want a chance to be involved make sure you sit in the front row. These interactions only added to the enjoyment.
For the climax we are treated to a twist on REM’s “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”. A perfect finale, where we all sang along.
This show is so fast paced, it has to be to cover everything, and it does cover everything. Murphy handles it so efficiently, frantically racing though the content with such energetic abandonment. It is a fun and hilarious take on Buffy, though I must say to follow and really enjoy the show for all its worth, it helps to be a huge Buffy fan. Whilst I have watched a fair bit of Buffy, mostly during the Riley and then Spike eras, there is a lot I have not watched, as a result, some of the story telling went over my head. I must say this has ignited my thirst for Buffy and I just might have to hunt out the old series and watch it from scratch.
Buffy obviously has a huge pull, as the packed-out theatre showed, which is a glorious thing to see. Murphy is a great storyteller and wonderful to watch, full of gusto and enthusiasm, he is dedicated to the source material and to the performance. You could tell he has a lot of passion about Buffy and performing. A must see for any Buffy fan.