Leeds Grand Theatre – until Saturday 26th April 2025
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
5*****
The award-winning, hit musical, Bat Out of Hell, has returned once again to Leeds Grand Theatre. A rock musical with music, lyrics and book by Jim Steinman. Created mostly out of the iconic Bat Out of Hell albums by Meat Loaf, the show is packed full of explosive rock anthems written by Steinman.
This was my first time of seeing Bat Out of Hell, and apart from knowing it centred around the music of the late, great Meat Loaf, I knew nothing else. I was pretty sure this show would be right up my street. You could tell as soon as you arrived at the theatre that it has a large fan base. There was a buzz in the air, Bat Out of Hell t-shirts everywhere, talk of how many times people had been to see the show, the highest I heard was 29, since its debut in 2017. The icing on the cake was the thunderous motorcade driving around the theatre. Riders from Aire Valley and St Leger HOG put on a fabulous show, revving their magnificent machines whilst we had the chance to take photos and videos. What a truly electrifying start, and that was before we had even entered the theatre.
Roughly based around the story of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, it follows the story of a dystopian world. Set in Obsidian, where the tyrannical Falco (Rob Fowler) runs the city with an iron fist. He lives in his ivory tower with his jaded, unhappy wife Sloane (Harriet Richardson-Cockerline), and bored, sheltered daughter Raven (Katie Tonkinson). Strat (Luke Street) is the 18-year-old leader of The Lost, a ragtag band of youthful misfits, who will never grow old. They live in the tunnels that wind under the city, outcasts, vilified by Falco. Their lives will never be the same again once Raven meets Strat, and they find romance and heartbreak.
The set worked very well, with the stage having three different distinct areas. One for the supremely talented musicians, elevated to the left at the back of the stage, another top right for the Falco family home, and the lower stage depicting the tunnels where The Lost hang out. As part of the show, a cameraman is frequently filming, especially in the Falco’s area, which is then relayed onto screens on the stage. This is something I have never seen before, and though I did find this distracting at first, I got used to it and it added another dimension to the story telling. Though the stage is dark, the props, which included a motorbike and car, and the 80’s inspired outfits and hair certainly aren’t.
All the cast are pretty amazing with their high energy dancing and incredible singing capabilities. Standouts are Luke Street as alternate Strat. He was charismatic to watch, encapsulating the essence of his eccentric complex character. His vocals just smashed it, he has such an amazing ability. His rendition of Bat Out of Hell was sublime. I was so glad I got to see his performance. Understudy Harriet Richardson-Cockerline, as Sloane, has such a powerful voice, you cannot help but be wowed by her. Her, and the equally impressive Rob Fowler, share great chemistry, their raunchy performance during Paradise by the Dashboard Light was just hilarious. Check out the pink undies.
Bat Out of Hell is an exhilarating production, stacked full of great Meat Loaf/Steinman tunes that we all know and love. Yes, it may be a bit wacky, loud and ridiculous, but it is up my street and thoroughly deserved the standing ovation at the end of the night. A rock music extravaganza from start to finish.
I can understand why this show has such a following and I would definitely go and watch it again and again.