What:
Saucy
Jack and the Space Vixens
Where:
The
Lounge, Leicester Square Theatre
When:
7:30pm,
16th August
Ticket
price: £22
What
on earth is it about?
At Saucy Jack’s, the stiletto
serial killer has struck again. In the midst of aspiring musicians singing
their hearts out in an attempt to get noticed and off the planet, the Space
Vixens are called in to investigate. They believe in justice, glitter and the
power of disco and the killer will not get away with his crimes any longer.
Opening
Act: The
Martini Encounter – a trio of singers and ukuleles. They were hilarious and
really talented; definitely a brilliant warm to warm up the audience for the
humour, sass and sexual innuendos of Saucy
Jack and the Space Vixens.
The
Show
I really didn't know what to
expect from Saucy Jack and the Space
Vixens. I hadn’t even heard of it until my friend demanded I accompany her
to see it in London the follow Friday night. Now I love a good West End show so
I was completely up for it. I am so glad I
agreed to go as apparently it’s something of a cult classic and now I know why.
The Lounge is absolutely tiny;
nestled in the basement of the Lesicester Square Theatre, there is a small stage,
one man bar and around fifty/sixty seats (just a guess at that, but there weren’t
too many!). It atmosphere was electric, loud and infectious. Jess and I sat in
the second row just to the side as we got there at the very last minute – damn trains!
– and the opening act started shortly after we’d settled ourselves with a
drink. As I said above, they were fantastic and I was sad to learn that the
opening act were being cut as the others that they rotated with weren’t quite
making the grade.
The show soon launched into
everything camp, glitter and innuendos and the costumes were reflected that
perfectly. Full of space-grunge, space opera and copious levels of sparkle, I loved
them. Each one captured the characters perfectly.
For some reason I wasn’t
expecting the voices of the cast to be as spectacular as if they were in a
bigger theatre. That was stupid. They all had fantastic voices, but I was
particularly blown away by those of Saucy Jack (played by Ralph Bogard) and
Jubilee Climax (played by Jamie Birkett). When Saucy Jack came on for his big
number, ‘Tortured Plaything’, me and Jess gaped at each other; amazing. Jubilee
had lots of shining moments as one of the Space Vixens and she got better and
better as the show went on. As well as the fantastic voices, the lyrics were
hilarious. Just as full of ridiculous lines, puns, the ever present innuendos
and a great addition to the character and story.
As you can tell, I pretty much
loved Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens and
the actors involved. Then in the interval I loved it even more. Towards the end
of the break, the actors came back out onto the stage while the audience milled
around, chatted and got some drinks. They carried on in character, quietly in
the background, talking amongst themselves about something that had happened at
the end of the first act. It was something I’d never seen it before and those
people pre-occupied with procuring alcohol had no idea what was going on!
Brilliant.
Afterwards
I was really lucky to get to
have drinks in the pub with three members of the cast (Saucy Jack, Sammy and Dr
Whackoff) and the producer/director, Stuart Saint, as Jess knew Nigel who
played Sammy. It was so nice to get a behind the scenes glimpse into the world
of West End theatre. The politics, issues and pressure of everything that wouldn’t
even cross the mind of an audience member was fascinating. It was a great end
to the evening!
Verdict:
10/10
It was absolutely fantastic and
I’d recommend it to everyone with a sense of humour, a love for disco and in
need of an evening full of fun.
The run ends on September 15th
so make sure you get your tickets
now!
I was not asked by anyone in
the show, promoting the show or involved in it in any way to write about it. I
just wanted to share something that I loved!
Photo credit: taken by Georgie
Gillard and found on the Leicester
Square Theatre Facebook page.
Sophie
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a message, I'd love to hear from you!