Curve Theatre Leicester – until 14th June 2025
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
2**
Bat Out of Hell is not a good show. The book is nonsensical, the narrative is completely non-existent and at no point did I have any idea what was happening. I was deeply disappointed to discover that Jim Steinman had written the book. His songs deserve a much better vehicle than this badly written and produced production to showcase his immense musical talent.
The vague story is as follows: In some futuristic dystopia, a dictator called Falco (Joshua Dever) lives in a high-rise tower with his wife, Sloane (Sharon Sexton) and their teenage daughter, Raven (Sophie-Rose Emery.) He drugs his daughter to stop her from dreaming, for some unknown reason, and Slone has some alcohol issues due to being deeply unhappy about her life. Meanwhile, deep in the sewers, Strat (Glenn Adamson) is the leader of ‘The Lost’, a gang very much like Peter Pan’s lost boys, who will forever be 18. Tink (Carla Bertran) appears slightly younger than the others and has a crush on Strat. However, Strat is in love with Raven, a girl he has never met but whom he has a poster of, despite her leading a very sheltered life due to her strict parenting. How she appears on posters is never explained. Raven is also in love with Strat. Strat breaks into Raven’s bedroom, with the help of her maid, Zahara (Georgia Bradshaw) who is also one of the Lost. Raven runs away with Strat, then goes back home again, then runs away again, a plot echoed by her mum, who leaves her dad, then goes back, then leaves again, but we are unsure why, except that it fits in with the songs. Major plot points such as injuries are never explained or properly acknowledged, as at one point Strat is mortally wounded but in the next song he proceeds to prance around without a care about his wound. Tink betrays ‘The Lost’, almost getting throttled to death by Falco. Character arcs and development are missing entirely as Falco spends the entire show fighting violently against ‘The Lost’, but once he decides to dress the same as ‘The Lost’ at the end, all is forgiven. The songs are shoehorned into this mess, which further detracts from any structure or sense. We lose all emotional connection to the characters because we are unable to follow their journey so we don’t care what happens to them.
Using handheld microphones is an odd choice. It would make sense for them to be used during the songs but having them for the spoken parts adds to the fakeness of the show, along with the camera projections. The beauty of theatre is watching live performances, but the relentless use of screens strips a production of its authentic action.
Bat out of Hell does have some positives. The cast are sensational performers with outstanding vocals. I was blown away by Ryan Carter and Georgia Bradshaw’s rendition of ‘Dead Ringer for Love’. Glenn Adamson is a wired and energetic Strat, his unique voice makes each song his own. Closing Act 1, his version of the titular ‘Bat Out of Hell’ absolutely smashes it. The tightness of the ensemble means that the execution of choreography is flawless and really enhances the talent and professionalism of the cast. Unfortunately, the phenomenal cast are the only positives for the show, but they can’t save it from the low star rating. Bat out of Hell is a non-show. I wish it were a reimagining of the songs from Meatloaf and Jim Steinman and did away with any trace of the deplorable excuse of a plot.