“A Batman Musical: Why so serious?” – Review

Although I cannot claim to be a Batman enthusiast, I have seen enough to know that turning it into a two hour long musical is no easy task. Our very own Musical Theatre Warwick (MTW) however, managed to stage a spectacle that was both hilarious and very entertaining.

It no doubt helped that the script itself was brilliantly written by Julian Richards. The story, of course, centres on the evil villains of Gotham, led by the Joker, who are inevitably defeated by Batman and Co. The predictability of the story, far from hindering the script, was used to great comedic effect by Richards as well as the sometimes genius improvisation by the cast- a standout example of this being the Joker’s line “that’s so 2008” when asked to explain his scars.

Chris Poon as Batman played with the confidence needed as a superhero, even if his husky Batman-style voice was a little difficult to understand at times. The satirical portrayal of Batman and his sidekick Robin, played by Annaliesa Ray, had the audience laughing right from the start, and it only got better. Their rendition of “Tell me it’s not true” from Blood Brothers was a highlight and served as a sign of what was to come throughout the rest of the show.

At this point a special mention has to go to Jake Benson (Joker) who arguably stole the show. Having to live up to the late Heath Ledger might have been a daunting prospect, but Benson played the part commandingly and phenomenally. From his expertly consistent Joker’s laugh to his unpredictable and sarcastic interactions with his colleagues (and even the audience!) Benson’s performance truly made it a show to remember.

That is not to detract from the performances of the rest of the cast though. Ray (Robin) and Tanzy Parkinson (Batgirl) were a wonderfully entertaining duo as Batman’s sidekicks who fall in love at first sight but are both awkwardly reluctant to admit it. Emily Taylor (Catwoman) also looked like a natural in her role of seducing, and of course falling in love with, Batman. Robin Kendall (Two-face) perhaps stood out the most of the smaller roles. His constant battling between his normal self and his evil self was truly brilliant. One of the most amusing moments of the show was his dealing with dilemmas including whether or not to kill himself by tossing an invisible coin.

The show was not without faults, there were one or two fairly major mishaps in the second half of the play. However, the atmosphere created by the terrific cast, and the brilliant way such mishaps were dealt with meant that, if anything, they only served to make the night all the more enjoyable. Most notably, Kendall as Two-face who told the audience to “shh” when laughing at a forgotten line of his. The cast didn’t seem to know how to react, which really just added to the hilarity of the scene.

Then, of course, there was the music. From Queen to Les Misérables and even to the latest Disney craze, Frozen, one could not question the diversity of songs chosen by the MTW crew. Whilst every soloist was highly competent, some stood out particularly, including Michael Chidgey’s (Mr Freeze) “Let it G”o which had the audience in fits of laughter and a light-hearted version of “Anything you can do” between Robert Madge (Riddler) and Cletus Chan (Penguin).

At this point, I will confess that I did not expect to enjoy a musical version of Batman quite as much as I did. The inclusion of some of the best West End hits certainly contributed to my enjoyment (in fact, it had me singing along with them!) and all things considered it was a highly enjoyable two hours. Credit must also go to Ollie Base on the piano, who carried the show along faultlessly, and of course the producer and director, Katie MacCallum and Jack Plumber, for making it all happen.

It is just a shame that MTW could not perform this to a larger audience and for more nights, as many will have missed out on a weird and wonderful musical!