Cornell S John and Nigel Barrett in Baddies the Musical at the Unicorn Theatre, London. Picture: Helen Murray
Baddies the Musical continues at the Unicorn Theatre, London until 31 December.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
From the moment bearded Nigel Barrett’s night-gowned Wolf and Kathy Rose O’Brien’s saccharine Red Riding Hood are interrupted at the crucial ‘big teeth’ moment by two 21st century London cops preventing an assault, you know you’re in for an original treat of an evening. Nothing in this show is quite what it seems – the five baddies aren’t all that bad and the two ‘goodies’ turn out to be anything but good. It was a fine show 12 months ago. This revival is even smoother, funnier and more thoughtful.
Four baddies – two ugly sisters (Karis Jack and Ngo Ngofa – a tuneful duo with attitude), Rumpelstiltskin (David McKay) and Captain Hook (Cornell S John) are in prison. Then they’re joined by the Wolf. McKay is hilarious as the very Scots, diminutive character who “everyone forgets”. John presents a delightfully dishy, smooth Hook, pitched somewhere between the Mikado and, later when he thaws, Lenny Henry in bed with that hotel chain he used to advertise.
One of the best moments in this show is the entrance of Unicorn regular, Christian Roe as besuited Peter Pan. “I’m so cool, I’m hot aren’t I?” he says, strutting towards the audience with revolting smugness and catching someone’s eye.
He and Cinderella (Kathy Rose O’Brien – simpering but sinister) want to rebrand the Baddies so that there’s no evil in their stories. The rebranding satire is belly-laugh funny (Captain Hook is to become a coat hanger and the Wolf a rescue dog like Lassie) and, of course, this whole show is gently subversive. All our sympathies are with the baddies. None of us is likely to trust the slimy pair who are confronting them.
Marc Teitler’s music (accompanying Nancy Harris’ book and lyrics) bounces chirpily along in support of all this and it’s a nice touch to have Jack Benjamin (guitar) and Jon Tenchard (flute, alto sax, bari sax and accordion) as talented actor muso guards who can sometimes be dimly seen in their surveillance room over stage left gazing at their screens – and playing their instruments.
The whole show is pretty original – a sort of Into the Woods for young audiences – but witty and entertaining as it is, it’s a great deal more than a romp. It asks questions about the structure of successful stories and the tension between good and bad elements within them. As Rumpelstiltskin comments, a story with nothing but good in it would be very boring.
Anyway it’s important to be yourself, which is what we’re supposed to reflect on while Roe is expertly belting out ‘Don’t Be You Be New’.
We’re also led to think about group dynamics and friendship when, for example, the newly arrived Wolf is horrified at the institutionalised bullying of Rumpelstiltskin.
But there’s nothing ‘worthy’ about about Purni Morell’s production. Laughter comes first. The best line of the night is John’s. A former lawyer, his Hook vets a contract Roe’s character wants signed. “I thought you were a pirate, not a lawyer,” comments one of the others. “Same thing,” he flashes back.
Susan Elkin
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