New Wimbledon Theatre – until 29th January 2022
Reviewed by Carly Burlinge
5*****
Bat out of Hell comes to life with the famous songs from Jim Steinman and Meatloaf directed by Jay Scheib telling the story of the lost boys.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the young oddities live forever frozen at a young age in a rebellious gang with Strat (Glenn Adamson) as their leader. This causes problems for Falco (Rob Fowler) who rules the city and protects it in a brutal way and thinks of the Lost Boys as nothing but scum. Not to mention, wanting to protect his daughter Raven (Martha Kirby) who has recently just turned 18 from them. She on the other hand is fascinated by the lost boys and falls for their leader Strat. He plays a very energetic and manic character who is very amusing to watch on stage with his many moves, whilst sticking his tongue out with wide eyes playing the perfect rebel. Raven comes across as the normal over the top teen and feels that her life is like living in a convent after being protected by her parents. She desperately wants to discover what life is like on the other side! The obvious happens as the more they try to keep her out of harm’s way the more she wants to break free which is exactly what she does, falling madly in love with Strat.
Her mother Sloane (Sharon Sexton) just wants her daughter to feel true love, as she seems to have many regrets regarding her own life. Meanwhile, she’s also struggling to deal with her own messed up relationship, because of this she’s a drunk that’s hysterical to watch. Giving the audience a laugh.
This show offers some great vocal talent with a strong connection between Falco and Sloane. I particularly enjoyed Paradise by the Dashboard light both giving an amazing performance involving a car, some energetic acting along with a little bit of raunchy! What Part of my Body Hurts the Most along with many other songs showed just how amazing their vocals were. I believe they were the strongest act with a lot to offer.
Strat and Raven also showed some immense singing pulling the audience in with their spectacular vocals all in all a pleasurable watch.
The stage throughout had much to offer with tremendous strobe lighting, smoke, flames, loud music that we all know and love along with motorbikes and cars keeping everyone well entertained. At the back of the stage a massive screen showed a live stream showing all acting from another angle making it feel almost like a music video so many things to watch.
As for the costumes what can I say who doesn’t love leather, fishnets, hotpants, boots and denim along with individual looks and some fab hair dos. All in all, a fabulous production to watch whilst enjoying some outstanding music.