Bridewell Theatre – until 24 November 2018
Reviewed by Jason Rath
3***
As a musical theatre lover, I have long heard of the cult following behind the hit Broadway show “Urinetown – The Musical” and have always wanted to see what it is actually like on stage for myself, so when I was offered the chance to review SEDOS’ brand new offering of the show I thought I’d throw myself in and say why not! However, I think I may have been better off saving myself the train fare and just staying at home as this self-indulging “comedy” of a show massively disappointed me. This is not so much a reflection on the cast, who had some lovely performances nestled within, but on the musical itself, with all the forced humour and weak toilet gags you’d expect from an early 2000’s kids TV show. Following the uprising of the common folk against the “Urine Good Company” over the charging levy on toilets and general differences between the corporation and the people, Urinetown delivers a fierce political message but this gets lost in the stupidity of the gags in my opinion.
The show did have some great redeeming qualities though in its splendid cast. Miranda Evans was strong as Hope Cladwell, with great promise in the role although she did sound a bit vocally tired on the night. Joe McWilliam was fabulous as Bobby Strong, with a very believable character showing clear understanding and some lovely harmony work with Miranda’s character. Luke James Leahy was brilliant as Officer Lockstock, with a lovely baritone sound and excellent comedy skills and control of his audience. Dan Saunders was good as Caldwell B Cladwell, with some great promise in the role, however I believe his character could have done with some more conviction to really get this feel of the “Big Bad”. As much as I enjoyed all these performances though, I’m afraid there were a couple of others that I was less fond of, particularly Tal Hewitt as Penelope Pennywise. I was really willing her on but I honestly could not understand a word she was saying when she was singing, the diction really needed some serious improvement, but I do believe this skill is there. Maybe just an off night? However, the real highlight of my night watching it came in a surprising way from this shows brilliant ensemble members, in particular Joshua Yeardley, Adrian Hau and the absolutely stunning actress Tasila Banda. These three cast members, while they weren’t necessarily the “stars”, drew my eye the entire way through the show and showed some beautiful subtle acting choices. Well done guys!
From a more technical point of view, I though the direction was good, making good use of its traverse setting in that theatre and the movement direction was fair. The lighting was well used for effect, but there were some sound issues throughout, even though the cast were obviously microphones on the actors, I was struggling hearing someone two metres away from me. My biggest concern however was the stairs on wheels that were used in the minimalistic set. While I thought this was a nice touch from the directing point of view, I just had my heart in my mouth the entire time as every time a character stepped in them the steps would go skidding off. The Producers have assured me that there were some brakes in use to put me at ease.
In conclusion, while the show might have offered some lovely character performances form it’s amateur cast, I was just let down by the content of the book itself and felt that maybe this was not the show to best serve these actors. However, the upcoming “How to succeed in business without really trying “ and “Jerry Springer the opera” may have more promise so be sure to get down and see them!