Urinetown

I was very pleased to be invited to a performance by HMOS. A new venue of Esher Theatre for them and a new musical for me! I was intrigued to discover the tone and style of the dystopian musical about an enforced ban on private toilets. I was delighted to find the script and lyrics by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann absolutely hilarious as was the delivery by the cast. ‘Step on the poor-don’t be the bunny’,’Look the other way while we run the company as we see fit’ summing up this satire of exploitative capitalism in a global crisis.

I was extremely impressed by how all creatives, cast and crew understood and delivered the humour of the satire, cohesively and with subtlety. They leant in to enhance the spoof style, avoiding overplaying the characters.

The opening Pre-show was successfully immersive. The variety of Voice Overs of announcements to ’citizens of the metropolis’ and the pirate radio worked well. The sound quality and design by Stuart Vaughan and Direct Sound was also excellent throughout the show. It was particularly noticeable in the most challenging songs with layered lyrics and melodies such as the Act 1 finale. The music was excellent and was provided by a four-piece band which was hidden under the stage. Gareth Alber on keyboard in the pit was unable to conduct, simply to cue via a microphone. This was an impressive feat in itself, but Alber’s participation of the ‘Don’t be a bunny’ song wearing bunny ears really enhanced the comedy of the moment. Lighting was good throughout with some effective use of footlights and backlighting.

The fabric backdrop of a Gotham-like city on the stage with cardboard signs around the programme stand with ’Welcome to Necropolis’ signalled the context, with simple transitions of cloth signs ‘Public Amenity 9’ to ‘UCG Urine Good Company’ ensuring pace between scenes. The design by Max Marchesi and Sue Williams had excellent detail. The two storey rostra with balconies was well used by cast and decorated with flyers from the government and graffiti from the rebellion – ‘Tomorrow?’ capturing the theme of the text. Colin Jackson’s exit after the death of his character and comic re-entry into the ensemble carrying a placard ‘Where is my brother?’ made me laugh out loud!

Costume style encapsulated the cartoon quality of the piece mixing grungy, broken down 21st century clothing for the poor with 1950’s style stereotypical cop outfits with comedy fluffy handcuffs and a ‘Doris Day’ heroine with blonde wig, lace gloves and day dress. Georgie Glover, Kelly Neilson and the makeup artists should also be congratulated for the Caldwell Cladwell grotesque transformation.

Millie Hall’s choreography blended a wide range of styles from street commercial to the Charleston and gospel choir sequences. The majority of the cast were very strong dancers, and all participated well with some ambitious, complex sequences. My favourite numbers were ‘Cop Song’,‘Don’t be the bunny’ and the Les Misérables parody sequence.

It is challenging to get the right balance with a self-consciously theatrical heightened acting style. Max Marchesi and his cast created lots of very funny moments, enjoyable caricatures, moments of melodrama but pulling back to avoid unnecessary ‘hamming up’ of the more bizarre moments. I particularly enjoyed the synchronized head snap and cartoon like ensemble chorus of ‘Whaaat?’ when anything unexpected happened.

All of the cast were good singers and actors and all leads performed very well but there were stand-out performers: Leah Parker as Pennywise, Olly McLaughlin as Lockstock, Georgie Glover as Hope Cladwell and Pedro Papa d’Amour as Caldwell B. Cladwell.

An outstanding production that has made a big impression. Congratulations to all of your company. Your beautifully presented programme will make a nice souvenir.

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