Theatre Review: Bat Out Of Hell
(AD: EVENT INVITE*) I had an ex that was crazy about Meat Loaf. The rock singer. Not the food. But it means I’m far more familiar with the songs of Meat Loaf than I’d usually admit in public. Whilst I’m in a confessional mood, I can also admit that I have belted out all 8 minutes of Paradise by the Dashboard Light on karaoke on more than one occasion. So I was more than ready to embrace all things rock for our first Alex Theatre Press Night of 2022. Rev up your motorbike kids, it’s Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical.
Thinly based around a Peter Pan-type tale set in post-apocalyptic New York, “The Lost” are rebellious and immortal, cursed – or blessed – with being forever 18 years old. Their leader Strat (Glen Adamson) falls in love with Raven (Martha Kirby), daughter of the city’s tyrannical ruler Falco (Rob Fowler). It’s the oft-told tale of the haves and the have-nots; the young and the old. In case the Neverland references are lost, there’s a character called “Tink” to hammer home the point.
It’s a vague plot, with more holes than a fishnet stocking, but the cast have a banging catalogue of rock classics to work through. Jim Steinman composed the tracks for Meat Loaf’s seminal album Bat Out Of Hell in 1977, as well as 1981 follow-up Dead Ringer and 1993’s Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell. He also penned tunes for Bonnie Tyler, including the finest power ballad ever, Total Eclipse of the Heart. Oh, and he co-wrote Boyzone’s No Matter What. A discography to be proud of. Apart from Boyzone.
The band are the stars of the show, led by musical director Robert Emery. But Steinman was not known for short catchy three-minute pop tunes, and some of the songs, often played at full length, can be a little musically repetitive. You can’t fault the sheer energy of the company though, seamlessly lurching from one classic number to the next. Steinman’s sometimes unfathomable lyrics are somehow pulled together to create a cohesive narrative.
Paradise By The Dashboard Light is as deliciously bonkers as you’d image, an ode to lost love and teenage lust of old. In fact all of the numbers performed by Falco and his weary wife Sloane (Sharon Sexton) are dynamite – the two have a chemistry which has clearly come from them performing the roles together for a while. I also covet their mustard velvet sofa.
The titular song – an absolute stone cold classic – makes a surprisingly early appearance, closing off the first act in a cloud of dry ice and fireworks. But for me, the show comes alive in the second half. Strat and Raven perform a touching For Crying Out Loud, their best song together by a mile. And Sexton’s vocals on What Part Of My Body Hurts The Most are sublime. It all ends with the full version of I Would Do Anything For Love and a riotous medley. Standing ovations are almost the norm these days, not reserved for only the best performances, but from audiences just appreciating live theatre productions once more.
The stage is laid out at different levels, and a hand-held camera projected onto the backdrop provides a shaky actors-eye view of the proceedings. There are lots of motorbikes, and it all comes together to provide a complete audio-visual experience. I feel like it could have been improved by better choreography – occasionally it all looked a bit boyband – but the main characters movements around the stage were wonderful.
It’s theatrical, it’s over-the-top, it’s batshit crazy. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a jukebox musical of Meat Loaf songs. Bat Out Of Hell The Musical is playing at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 15th January. You can buy your tickets online here, or contact the Box Office on 0844 871 3011. The UK Tour continues until November 2022. For full dates and ticket purchases, check out the Bat Out Of Hell The Musical Website
All Production Photographs by Chris Davis
