“The bar is over in the corner there, get yourself a drink –
you’ll need it”. It’s not often you’re given such advice by an usher on the way
in, but it’s advice I should’ve heeded.
Molly Wobbly is a
very silly new musical that revolves around an extended breast gag – it concerns
the inhabitants of Mammary Lane, a mysterious potion that causes an inflamed
rack, and a tit factory that isn’t really a tit factory at all. Somewhere there’s
a confused message about plastic surgery and owning our bodies, but it’s buried
beneath a flimsy plot that hangs between each set-piece song like gossamer.
This is a musical comedy that fails on both levels. The
crude humour is juvenile at best and vile at worst, with a script that throws
in references to clits, bukkake and the odd fuck purely to induce shock
laughter. If a man in drag singing about a one night stand that left him with
an anal prolapse is your idea of a fun night out, there’s plenty to enjoy. I’m
all for a bit of camp fun, but camp is not a substitute for intelligent comedy.
There is nothing clever here, only worsened by a distinct lack of comic timing.
The music, meanwhile, is pedestrian, lacks originality and fails to advance the
plot in any notable way.
What’s worse, it’s performed with all the finesse of a
low-budget pantomime. The grotesque characterisation certainly fits with the
oddball macabre style, but it just comes off as a poor man’s Tim Burton, the
central role of Ithanku (Russell Morton) splicing together Edward Scissorhands
with the Metz Judderman. And the usher from earlier? He’s part of a bizarre cinematic
introduction that unnecessarily breaks the fourth wall, confusing what is
already a convoluted plot.
Frustratingly, there is clearly some talent on stage, particularly
from the three female leads. Cassie Compton and Stephanie Fearon both offer
sweet vocals as Jemma and Ruth, but it’s Jane Milligan who most impresses as
Margaret - the only character to provoke a laugh. The performers are so much
better than this dire material.
Call me a prude. Say I’m lacking a sense of humour. Most
likely, I just wasn’t drunk enough.
1/5
Watch: Molly Wobbly runs
at the Leicester Square Theatre until the 14th March.
Photos: Darren Bell
