Hope Mill, Manchester – until 31 August 2019
Reviewed by Sally Hopper
4****
With a very intimate setting, the seating and stage lay out was something I personally had not seen before with two sets of audiences facing the stage from both sides. I believe it worked well, the actors engaged with the audience and involved members in jokes and even selfies as part of the story.
The first half of the show was hilariously funny, the characters following the general stereotypes you would see on shows such as Jerry Springer and Jeremy Kyle but all thought out and developed well. A few of my personal favourites were Emily Chesterton as “Baby Jane” and “Peaches” – she portrayed the two flawlessly, her voice beautifully powerful. Andrew Patrick-Walker as “Tremont” it takes some true bravery to step out in a skimpy glittery dress and huge platform go-go boots but he smashed it! Pulling off several death drops and still singing while doing so.
The second half was just as funny and just as expletive which I loved. However I felt I lost track of the story quite quickly, the two halves felt quite disconnected but just had the same characters in. Poor Steve the Security Guard played by Kai Jolley was left strapped to a table throughout the whole second half with seemingly no story as to why. However I thought the lighting on the stage during the second half was impressive especially during the fighting section between Satan and God, it emphasised the differences between the two.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Jerry Springer the Opera. It was non stop laughs, rude and explicit jokes and I was impressed with all performers. I would definitely go to see this show again and recommend it to friends to go see for themselves.