The Stage

Return to the Forbidden Planet

Published Monday 16 February 2004 at 13:30 by Neil Dowden

Bob Carlton’s entertainingly kitsch Olivier Award-winning musical blasts off on yet another flight. Based on the 1956 B-movie Forbidden Planet, which was loosely based on The Tempest, the show is still a glorious parody of Shakespeare and fifties sci-fi films, complete with rock music from that period. Prefiguring the ‘compilation musical’, Carlton’s selection of song lyrics to fit in with the story is as ingenious as the way he quotes - and misquotes - the Bard.

In designer Katy Tuxford’s spaceship cockpit - a nice homage to low-budget film sets - we see Captain Tempest and his crew aboard the Starship Albatross forced to land on the uncharted planet of D’Illyria by the mad scientist Doctor Prospero, marooned with his daughter Miranda for 15 years.

Director John Plews makes the most of the show’s tongue in cheek humour and draws accomplished performances from the cast, who not only act, sing and dance but play all the instruments with gusto. Michael Instone’s pipesmoking Tempest is an amusingly patronising but dim comic book hero. Brenden Lovett’s staringeyed Prospero is Donald Pleasence on acid, while Cathy McManamon changes seamlessly from cool Science Officer to the vampish Gloria, Kate Buxton’s girlish Miranda turns into a rebellious teenager in love and Alan Howell plays rollerblading robot Ariel with aplomb. This show definitely has good vibrations.

This show was reviewed prior to the website launch. A new review may be pending.