By describing their hour and a half of entertainment as “The Ryanair of musical theatre”, Giles Brandreth and the Pocket Theatre Company have all but written this review, simply leaving Hairline to fill in the blanks. With tongue firmly in cheek, we run the gamut of West End showstoppers, and no-one escapes: Brigadoon, Miss Saigon, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rocky Horror are all quickly and mercilessly executed on this high speed musical conveyor belt.
True to their promise (100 shows or your money back), we are taken from the earliest musicals right through to current productions by way of some classics, and not-so classics, performed by a class team in its own right. Brandreth and his four compatriots are tuneful, well rehearsed and, most importantly, very entertaining. The stage show runs seamlessly, allowing space for our compere to frequently ad-lib with double entendres and topical humour, proving that it is after all possible to have dry, refined wit and be a former member of the Conservative Party.
Ballads, disco, high camp and rock and roll are effortlessly covered, and above all else, the performers have great fun on stage, exaggerating musical cliches and voicing famous impersonations over familiar songs. Who would have though Bart Simpson would have made a convincing Oliver Twist? If you”re a Broadway fan, this is a must see, and likewise, if musical theatre drives you to drink, despair and earplugs, you really shouldn”t miss the chance to see five fine singers purging the irony from their voices.
Hairline leaves you with but one word of warning: the sight of a fully suspendered former politician dancing the time warp in complete Frank N. Furter regalia etches itself a bit too strongly on the psyche for comfort. You have been warned.
4/5
Simon Ferguson
