The Southwark Playhouse is celebrated as a venue for little known, undiscovered, and brand new musicals. The Toxic Avenger is simply the latest in a long line of hits – and a bloody good laugh too.
Following the success of last year’s Bat Boy (and in the tradition of Little Shop of Horrors and The
Rocky Horror Show), it’s a modern rock musical with cartoonish style and
gruesome fun that’s based on the 1984 movie of the same name. Its irreverent
story, with book and lyrics written by Joe DiPietro (Memphis and I Love You, You’re
Perfect, Now Change), pokes fun at both superhero movies and musicals, with
plenty of little cheeky nods to Les Mis and
others in this production directed by Benji Sperring.
Set in the fictional town of Tromaville, New Jersey, the
area has become a toxic dumping ground for the rich inhabitants of Manhattan.
In the midst of pollution, the geeky Melvin Ferd the Third (Mark Anderson) vows
to save the town from its corrupt mayor (Lizzii Hills) and impress Sarah, his
blind love interest (Hannah Grover). Except, when some bullies throw him in a
vat of toxic waste, he returns as a mutant hulk with fearsomely impressive
strength (even if his costume is laughably less than convincing).
Of course, nothing is quite as it seems. Blind Sarah is not
the typically sweet innocent blonde she initially appears to be – she’s a
rampant sex fiend desperate to sleep with “Toxie” who she assumes is a muscular
French lover, for who else could love him but a blind girl? And Toxie himself
is a gentle creature, who promises not to be violent and sings in a sweet, high
tenor. The narrative does just enough to turn the genre on its head, providing
plenty of belly laughs in the process with its crude humour and frequent
obliterating of the fourth wall.
Much of the humour, though, stems from Black Dude (Ashley
Samuels) and White Dude (Marc Pickering). With only five members of the cast,
they are forced to switch rapidly between a multitude of different roles. What
could become tiresome instead becomes a thrill, the audience never knowing what
they’ll do next: scientists, rock singers, policemen, drag hairdressers and more.
Their performances provide a solid backbone for the remaining three. Hills
offers a tour-de-force performance as both the Mayor and Ma Ferd in “Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore”;
Grover is utterly convincing as the blind Sarah; and Anderson offers a stunning
vocal that, in true Frankenstein fashion, finds the humanity inside the
monster.
With its vibrant and fun style, catchy rock score and brilliant
performances, this comic musical is intoxicating. U2 and Spiderman should be
quaking in their rubber boots.
4/5