Who knew blunt power trauma might be so pleasing? Starlight Categorical is again. And it’s a two and a half hour neon fever dream, the place individuals on curler skates in iridescent costumes fake to be trains, set in house, or the longer term, or one thing. It’s extra spectacle than sense, a rare artistic onslaught, with songs about steam engines cranked out at max quantity, all designed to please your internal baby – which it actually does.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s first (and higher) try on the Cinderella story took theatre to new ranges of extra when it opened 40 years in the past in London. Largely what individuals keep in mind of it now could be that the solid have been on rollerskates pelting round a specifically reconfigured theatre at speeds of as much as 30mph, one thing that, throughout its Nineties heyday, noticed it named the West Finish’s most injury-prone present.
This revival within the reworked Troubadour house, directed by Luke Sheppard (who helmed & Juliet and the Reside Help musical), is a tamer affair, however there’s nonetheless a way of jeopardy as performers clad in big otherworldly costumes rocket previous, and ushers inform us to maintain fingers effectively clear, and that we will solely depart our seats in an emergency.
And although it begins gently sufficient, with a bit of boy or lady (it varies every night time) known as Management enjoying with their trains, being sung to sleep by mum, it rapidly pumps itself as much as most. Quickly there are dozens of train-people, within the creativeness of Management, who spend a lot of the first act introducing themselves. There’s a eating automotive known as Dinah, an electrical engine known as Electra, and so on and so on, and Management needs them to race. The one we’re rooting for is Rusty, an outdated steam engine, performed by newcomer Jeevan Braich. It’s not the form of present that enables for finely detailed performances, however he and the opposite 39 (!) solid members sing and skate very effectively.
Each time Starlight Categorical pulls as much as a brand new theatre it undergoes substantial revisions – it’s the Practice of Theseus, barely something stays of the unique – and that’s true right here: Management is definitely performed by a baby, relatively than a disembodied voice as in earlier productions. Gone are the trains with dumb names comparable to their international locations (Espresso for Italy, Manga for Japan), a lot of genders have been swapped. However the large factor is that it appears to be like a bit bizarre in 2024 to be hymning steam trains and booing the electrical baddie, so in comes a brand new character – the Hydrogen prepare – to be our hero’s helper.
Every little thing about it’s maximalist. Tim Hatley’s set has ramps and revolves and sliding doorways, costumes by Gabriella Slade flip people into Transformers/Energy Rangers/dwelling cartoon issues. They add to the sense of queerness that has all the time been a large a part of the present, made much more so on this manufacturing with the addition of (and sure I’m conscious how ridiculous this sounds) homosexual and non-binary trains.
The huge round lighting rig is area scale, full with lasers, and Andrzej Goulding’s superb video design throws galaxies across the big hangar-like house. It’s like the within of a feverish baby’s thoughts. However, to be frank, it typically appears like a baby has written the music and lyrics too. This isn’t even near Lloyd Webber’s greatest rating, and the lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, with contributions from Nick Coler and Lauren Aquilina, skate fastidiously between easy sufficient for youngsters to know, and childishly easy. And it’s normally the latter: “I’m me and that’s all I would like. Gained’t get down, it’s my crown.”
Does that matter? Not likely, provided that the present takes place within the creativeness of a small baby, a helpful get-out. It’s the type of present you watch along with your mouth large open. It’s full on, it’s enjoyable, and it’s for teenagers. And did I point out they’re on curler skates?
Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, reserving till February 2025
