Barbican Theatre – until 9th September 2023
Reviewed by Ben Jolly
5*****
Something special is happening this summer at the Barbican Theatre and you should probably definitely go and witness this theatrical event.
Once in a while, a show comes along that both engages and entertains in a fresh new approach to storytelling, A Strange Loop is that show, it breaks, twists and bends every rule in the book for traditional commercial musical theatre but manages to remain palatable enough for us to digest the material.
With a book, music and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, this musical has had incredible critical success when it debuted in New York. The phrase that the show takes its name from was conceived by the American scholar of cognitive science, Douglas Hofstadter who used it as a way to understand the sense of self perception and the “I” narrative we form in our own minds. Jackson has taken this idea further to write a show about a young gay Black man while struggling with the inner thoughts of his own life who is writing a show about a young gay Black man while struggling with the inner thoughts of his own life who is writing a show about a young gay Black man… and the loop goes on.
We meet Usher, he’s a young gay black man who is working as an Usher for The Lion King on Broadway, he’s an aspiring musical theatre writer and his genius opening line is, “Can I really write this?” Both character and actor (Kyle Ramar Freeman) are instantly loveable and we are immediately on his side. We are privy to the thoughts inside Usher’s head with stellar performances from the multi-faceted cast and thus feel that we intrinsically know Usher on an intimate level within the first ten minutes, this knowing gives us a connection to the character that fuses an unbreakable bond between the audience and the show.
Through the one hour and forty-minute piece, we go on a short but powerful journey with Usher and his musicalised thoughts, who also take the form of various characters in his life, well the character versions that live in his head, that is. The voyage starts small but gets bigger the further we delve into Usher’s psyche, as a show it is brilliantly paced – the moment it feels like we’ve learnt all we can, there’s another level, another pocket of Usher’s mind that is still left to explore and while on the surface it might seem that the issues and struggles our character is dealing with are specific to him, they are ultimately universal. It is hard to walk away from this show without feeling that your perceptions of your inner reality have been shaken in some way.
Jackson’s book and lyrics can be thoughtful and poignant, still at times he uses grotesque and chilling dialogue which successfully capture our attention to what is being said. Who knew that realism and surrealism could coexist in the same time signature? The show is also a minefield of entertaining “if you know, you know” references from all aspects of Usher’s life.
There are beautiful orchestrations by Charlie Rosen, a thrilling set and lighting design from Arnulfo Maldonado and Jen Schriever respectively and with Stephen Brackett’s masterful direction, this show fires on all cylinders. What makes it great theatre is that it keeps one foot planted in tradition but takes another step in a whole new direction. There were moments that felt reminiscent of Pippin with the theme of isolation or Anyone Can Whistle with its Brechtian style of storytelling but this show is ultimately unique in the way that the story of Usher is told.
Believe in the hype. This is the real deal!