Curve Theatre Leicester – Until 9th November 2024
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
3***
SuperYou is a self-labeled, uplifting rock musical, written and composed by Lourds Lane. It centers around the multilayered journey of a comic book/graphic artist and marketeer, Katie, defender of the marginalised and spokesperson for the downtrodden. She discovers self-empowerment and her own voice via support from her superheroine comic book creations, when she needs them the most. At least I think that’s what the story is about…
The production has real potential, but it is poorly structured and narratively incoherent, leaving the show feeling confused and rushed. There are a multitude of themes in the show, from Katie’s personal journey, battling inner demons, a love story, traumatic family issues, amongst many others. Unfortunately, this overload keeps taking us down various paths and leaves little room for any solid story development and dilutes characters, so they stay shallow. We never truly understand their motives and they make sudden shifts in their actions which jars with the trajectory they appeared to be on. This doesn’t allow us to warm to them. We flit from situation to situation in the blink of an eye and just when we think we have a grasp of what’s going on, another curve ball is thrown in.
The cast is predominately a powerhouse of powerful women, and the vocals are sensational. Vicki Manser, as Katie, is an incredible performer. She brought the house down singing a stunning rendition of ‘Fragmented’. Aaliyah Monk was delightful as the younger Katie along with Owen Lloyd, who shone as her brother. Courtney Stapleton, Kingsley Morton and the other ‘Boltz’ illuminated the stage as they belted out their individual numbers and wowed in their superhero suits designed by Cynthia Nordstorm. Set design by Anna Louizos is deceptively simple and wonderfully effective. Sliding screens act as blank canvasses upon which projections by Caite Hevner are screened, so we could see Katie’s comics being drawn in real time, which was a super clever idea.
SuperYou, has the elements to become a successful musical, but it needs to decide what it wants to be, what it wants to focus on and for that to be finessed into fullness.