Showstopper: An Improvised Musical

I’m still getting over a cold, which was streaming during the performance of this show when I should have been in bed feeling sorry for myself (Manflu is for life, not just for pity). Thank goodness I roused myself for one of the finest pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen. Performing in what is usually the university debating hall, there was no moot point in how great a show this was.

A keyboard-drums duo accompanied a troupe of seven who seemed like a modern incarnation of Shakespeare’s Players in ‘Hamlet’, who bowed to the suggestions of the audience of a topos of a musical which crossed The Godfather and Mamma Mia. No surprises that its title was ‘Mafia Mia’. There was a smashing melodic shape to all songs, and it was entertaining to see where the story and the rhymes would go. Numbers included a Bob Fosse cabaret skit with legs a-flyin’, and the titular song was met with rousing applause. The bald Adam (whose interview in the studio is on the site) carried the show brilliantly and was supported by his cast who seemed to enjoy what they do. Parodying Bernstein and Sondheim, the whole audience was enraptured, even though I did have a coughing girl behind me to ruin my appreciation of the talent. She should have stayed in bed, but this is the pot calling the kettle ill.

It really takes a lot of skill to do this at all, so to do it well is nothing short of amazing. Showstopper is streets ahead of its competition, and point to the future of musical theatre away from the mafia or Mamma Mia. Making shit up for a laugh and a great time, this is five stars whether you’re sick or not.

Showstopper: The Improvised Musical
Gilded Balloon Teviot
22:50, 5-29 Aug