Stalking John Barrowman was performed at the Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.
Stalking John Barrowman is a new musical by Naomi Chiffi and Jude Garner (book) and Patrick Steed (music and lyrics) that needs to learn that less is sometimes more.
Its story is about two unlucky-in-life characters that use their love of John Barrowman to entertain their otherwise mundane days. When each protagonist, Jamie and Julie, are thrown together by fate, they strike up a friendship.
The musical follows them as they decide to quit their day jobs and start up a private investigating business. This proves to be a great guise to actually stalking Barrowman. Hilarity then ensues as they manage to be extras on Torchwood and then sneak into his house.
Directed by David Evans,the piece does start well, there are lots of laughs from the audience and the catchy songs have everyone toe-tapping. But soon the jokes dry up and are replaced with too many euphemisms and sexual innuendos. I am sure even Barrowman would have been blushing.
Although the writing leaves much to be desired, this does not mean Stalking John Barrowman features a lifeless cast. To the contrary, as each actor’s talent is still evident despite the crass jokes.
The three actors that play J-Belle 1, 2 and 3 (the female gospel trio which narrates the story) are fantastic, doing a wonderful job of breaking up the action on stage through a variety of freeze-frames. Their songs are also the most memorable as the artists showcase both their acting and singing talent.
Simon Bulley (Jamie) and Mari Izzard (Julie) also offer strong performances as they portray their, albeit poorly written, characters successfully. They also manage to sing their way through a variety of original songs, including one about the meaning of onomatopoeia.
Unfortunately, this song lasts for ten minutes, and by the end everyone in the audience is confused. In essence, it is a musical that gets a little carried away with letting the actors have more fun than the audience.
Also, the cast is still waiting for Barrowman to see the show. For their sake I hope he doesn’t make a guest appearance. It will save embarrassment all round.
Lucinda Reid
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