Starlight Express | Live Show Review – TOP 20 MUSICALS 2024: No 19

Lisa Martland
Tuesday, November 26, 2024

A crazy, colourful, immersive rollercoaster of a show – the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic musical on wheels is playing at the Troubadour Theatre in London

Jade Marvin (Momma) and the cast in Starlight Express (Images credit: Pamela Raith)

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe’s 1984 groundbreaking and bonkers musical Starlight Express, described by naysayers at the time as ‘squeals on wheels’, may be a polarising show but it is one that has been welcomed back to London with great anticipation and excitement.

For some of those who saw the original, it’s a chance to relive an experience that introduced them to the magic of theatre for the very first time, and the producers of this immersive, high-tech, train-racing, roller-skating, theme park ride of a production are hoping it will have the same impact on newcomers decades later.

Plot-wise, the pickings are still slim: a young child falls asleep playing with his trains and dreaming of their adventures. Before our very eyes, the state-of-the-art Starlight Auditorium at the Troubadour Wembley Park becomes the playground of that youngster’s imagination – it’s race night and we have a front-row seat to the competition between electric-powered engine Electra, Greaseball (diesel) and underdog, Jeevan Braich’s sweet-voiced steam train Rusty (plus a whole host of adjoining coaches and trucks). The sleepy child becomes the onstage race coordinator Control (played on this occasion by Cristian Buttaci – the character was previously just a voiceover).

Some purists and critics will dwell on the changes that have been made in this new production (although there have already been plenty of revisions since the original staging for subsequent productions, not least for the long-running version in Bochum, Germany): Greaseball is now played by a female performer (Al Knott), Bowie-like Electra (Tom Pigram) is non-binary, and the character formerly known as Poppa has become Momma (Jade Marvin). There are new characters, notably Jaydon Vijn as Hydra who represents the fuel of the future (‘It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when for hydrogen!’). Gabriella Slade’s chic costumes incorporate futuristic and superhero vibes with locomotive technology.

So, does it succeed? It would be hard not to be impressed with Tim Hatley’s design for the reconfigured space with the racetrack snaking its way around audience pods nearest to the revolving stage and then sloping up either side to create a higher platform complete with extensive screens (video and animation design by Andrzej Goulding) introducing characters and broadcasting live footage of race action – think Paw Patrol meets Formula One. Plus, there’s an additional ramp at the back of the stage which allows skate marshalls on scooters to throw in a few tricks.

In the first few scenes, the combination of this environment, together with an intoxicating lighting design from Howard Hudson and performers skating close by at speed, is edge-of-the-seat stuff.

However, it doesn’t really take long for the novelty to wear off. While there are a few catchy numbers in the score, influenced by rock, pop, country, blues, rap and more, so much is either unmemorable or drowned out by the sporting event/live gig approach to the sound. Plus, there just isn’t enough of a decent narrative to encourage you to care about the individual characters.

Director Luke Sheppard ensures there are some enchanting moments: the child’s bedroom transitioning to the racetrack (complete with a life-size planetary mobile descending from above), the spirit of the Starlight Express making an appearance, and of course the races. But even the latter, like the whole production, feel a bit safe and unengaging, and the track design doesn’t always encourage a build-up of excitement and tension.

The final megamix shines a light on the hardworking, skilled and vibrant cast and is also a welcome showcase for Ashley Nottingham’s nifty choreography (the creatives have been collaborating with the musical’s original choreographer Arlene Phillips as creative dramaturg).

Lloyd Webber has said that he wants this version of Starlight Express to be fun and entertaining, to be the kind of show that will tempt people to go the theatre who don’t normally do so.

Who knows, perhaps those audiences will be able to fully embrace the Starlight Express experience, to see the show through the eyes of a child’s imagination and not question the weakness of the material. If so, this production might be a great success. I may stick to just one visit to the station for now.

This feature first appeared in the August/September 2024 issue of Musicals – consider subscribing today!