Well here’s a show with something to please everyone.
It’s based loosely on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” (with plenty of other Bard quotes thrown in for good measure) and borrows heavily from that 1950 classic science fiction movie “The Forbidden Planet”. There’s even romance and robots (although Robbie the Robot is replaced by Ariel the Robot). And even better – there’s hit after hit from the rock and roll years played by a multi-talented cast who can act (their anti-gravity miming was priceless) and play numerous instruments.
Before the show starts, the space crew wander around chatting to the audience. Then they fool around on stage. And we all take part in a Polarity Reversal Drill. The 12 or so musicians strike up and the space journey begins: “Wipe out” and “Telstar” are played competently and LOUD. The cast leaning and jumping together was artful and very funny.
Queen legend Brian May pops up on the drop-down screen on occasions. Who knew he had PhD in astrophysics? The set design is what you would expect if you staged a rock concert on a spaceship’s bridge. The lighting and special effects were fantastic (especially during the meteor shower and “Great Balls of Fire”). The massive film backdrop – where you could see the galaxy, the mountains of planet D'Illyria and that scary monster – was impressive.
Much of the words are from the original Shakespeare and when the language becomes more contemporary you know that they are leading into the lyrics of another memorable song. The hits keep on coming – Elvis, The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, The Animals, The Spencer Davis group, The Byrds – there were simply too many to list. And they keep your attention as the plot unfurls.
There were more than a few star turns. The comedy. singing and guitar skills of Captain Tempest (Sean Needham) and an awesome guitar solo medley somewhere in the middle of The Zombie’s “She’s not there” by Cookie (played by Mark Newnham). Miranda (Sarah Scowen) was a surprisingly good trumpet player. And Dr Prospero (Jonathan Markwood) – dressed somewhat like Mr Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - sang and moved rather well too.
It is 25 years since the first production appeared and won an Olivier Award for Best Musical. And it’s still as fresh and funny as ever. It will appeal to everyone from age eight to eighty. I just wished I’d taken more friends along and that we’d dressed up in costume – like you do for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Little Shop of Horrors”.
The only London shows are at Wimbledon New Theatre – it’s on until Saturday 28th March and then it goes on a short tour round the UK.
Further details:
http://forbiddenplanetreturns.com/
http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/return-to-the-forbidden-planet/
