HOW DO YOU WRITE A DOCTOR WHO MUSICAL WITHOUT GETTING SHUTDOWN BY THE BBC?
The MTN award winning musical hit of Edinburgh 2013 returns in an all new regenerated form. Watch as superfans Jamie and Jess sing through time and space to battle hastily altered villains ‘the cybergents’ and ‘exterminators’ with original songs including ‘I Need A Doctor’ and ‘Phonebox of Love’.
Review
With a simple deliciously cheesy set, live keyboard music from the perfectly timed pianist Olli, some energetic songs and even rapping (he’s da man that Wilson-Taylor), some banter, great physical comedy, evil masterminds, tin foil and homemade time travel stage effects together with some delightfully hammy one-liners we have the makings of a feel good, well informed ode to the long standing UK TV series, that Doctor who fans would approve greatly of – and by the feeling in the audience they did, a lot. The performance even managed to be good humouredly political – shining a light on perhaps overzealous copyrighting BBC laws
I watched a lot of Doctor Who when I was younger but was probably not an observant nor memorabilia collecting kind of fan, as a few gags went over my head and my 10 year old son and his friends were a little lost and didn’t always connect with the humour for that reason. Saying that however they were still pretty captivated by the pace of the dazzling duo who between them acted out an array of characters from the series past and present. Lighting, music and great comic timing made this a strong and captivating piece of live theatre with never a dull moment. The audience of die hard fans laughed a lot, I laughed a lot – even when I didn’t understand – because the skill of the performers charmed us, drawing us into into their zany world. Wilson-Taylor and Spray were a joy to watch together, bouncing off their quirky energy and diving into the playfulness of the piece.
Although singing voices were strong and skilled, some musical variety would have improved the piece and a more defined and tangible plot would have added an interesting dimensionality.
Overall however a strong and inventive piece of work worth seeing if for the sink plunger weiding exterminator alone. Sadly this was the last ever performance – their 97th. But if you are in Presuming Ed’s in Brighton anytime have a look for a key prop used in the show…..a Time Travelling Phone Box…..it’s different but THE SAME…get it?! I look forward to seeing this duo’s next project.
