Laura Baldwin and Rob Houchen in Eugenius! at The Other Palace, London. Picture: Scott Rylander
Eugenius! continues at The Other Palace, London until 21 October 2018.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
A baby milk dependent villain. His nefarious robot sidekick voiced by Mark Hamill. Brian Blessed narrating… and rapping. All this and more awaits you in Eugenius!
With such pop-culture titans lending their talent and a creative team featuring Warwick Davis (as producer) and Hamilton’s Michael Jibson (creative consultant,) a lot was riding on Eugenius! when it premiered last year at the London Palladium, with both Davis and Jibson appearing as the equally villainous Evil Lord Hector and studio exec Lex respectively.
Now returning for its second full run at The Other Palace, and with a legion of devoted ‘Eugenies’ in tow, this ‘Space-themed 80s inspired stage show’ follows Eugene (Rob Houchen), a socially awkward high schooler and self-proclaimed geek, attempting to finish his first comic book masterpiece: the adventures of Tough Man and his sidekick, Super Hot Lady.
With undying support from his friends Janey (an effervescent Laura Baldwin) and Chunk-like hormone-driven Feris (Daniel Buckley), Eugene’s magnum opus gets the Hollywood treatment after a visit from talent scout (and musical theatre reference machine) Theo (Scott Paige) and his dreams are realised… but Eugene soon discovers that these dreams will have consequences of intergalactic proportions.
The geek is, unsurprisingly, strong with this one, with 80s pop culture references woven into every other lyric and line, spanning from He-Man, Transformers and Star Wars to Dirty Dancing and Big.
Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins emulate and merge styles effortlessly, from Feris’ Sugar Hill Gang evoking rap ‘Who’s That Guy?’ to power ballad to end all power ballads ‘Comic Book Kind of Love.’ But the song of the night by far is fan favourite ‘Go Eugenius!’ a pounding, anthemic and unforgivably catchy finale, masterfully engineered to get you out of your seat and punching the air.
Truly an ensemble show, Eugenius! has been cast to near perfection. Neil McDermott’s scene-stealingly irrepressible Evil Lord Hector flips and prances around the stage like a caffeinated Jim Carrey.
Elsewhere Christopher Ragland and Alison Arnopp prove there are no small parts with Ragland doubling operatic Jor El-esque Lord Tough Man with Eugene’s dad and Arnopp’s show-opening Space Diva with bipolar teacher Mrs Truthstretcher.
Director Ian Talbot doesn’t allow the ball to drop for a moment, with every scene played at maximum energy and even ‘slower’ numbers punctuated by Aaron Renfree’s popping choreography.
Conceptually, Eugenius! isn’t the single most original musical on offer at the moment but its unfailing self-awareness and unfaltering charm ensure it’s completely irresistible. That and some of the biggest earworms in the West End. Be sure to catch it before its October closing date, and if not, pray for a transfer!
Alex Chard
Tickets for Eugenius at The Other Palace are available HERE
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