Supersonic Man
Southwark Playhouse Borough • 9 Apr - 3 May
Having already thought that the current production of Midnight Cowboy was going to be a tall order as a story ripe for being reinterpreted as a musical, (it has, and is currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant - see ??), imagine my surprise to find myself sitting in the theatres sister location at Southwark Playhouse Borough 24 hours later for the premier of a brand new musical from Lambco Productions, Supersonic Man, which tells the story of one mans slow decline having been diagnosed with Motor Neurones Disease. (Who says musical theatre has to be all chocolate-box and jazz-hands). It’s a challenging subject and a fine line to tread tonally for writer / director Chris Burgess, not to mention having to convince a theatre going public that this still has the possibility of being an entertaining, as well as a moving, night out… which, surprisingly, it actually somehow manages to be.
For context, Burgess was first inspired to write this musical having seen Peter: The Human Cyborg, a Channel Four documentary that followed Peter Scott Morgan’s journey to try and conquer his own diagnosis through the use of robotics, radical surgery and AI technology. (An interesting side note is that Peter was also one half of the first gay couple to get legally married in England). Whilst Burgess acknowledges that five years on, this production has ended up more ‘loosely’ based on this story, (no doubt due, in part, to the inclusion of a less than sympathetic documentary crew… more of which later) the central thread remains the same. Whilst I was concerned that a musical about a degenerative disease had every possibility of mimicking the plotline of Mel Brookes ‘The Producers’, the direction of travel Burgess takes thankfully put me more in mind of Denis Potters ‘The Singing Detective’, his musical flights of fancy, often delivered here in a gloriously heightened and stylistic way thanks to Richard Lamberts immaculate lighting, enhance rather than detract from the unravelling story, the opening of the second act being a prime example of Burgess leaning into the more fantastical as a way to get to the heart of his story. That it manages these moments of such broad brush strokes without negatively impacting the stories emotional impact is definitely to be applauded… and applauded it most definitely was at the performance I went to.
Supersonic Man certainly starts energetically enough, almost excessively so for a cast about to sing live for the 100 minute duration of this musical, (you’ll find no Madonna-esque lip-syncing here!). “I am wetter than Tom Daley!” declares Shaz, (played by the consistently hilarious Mali Wen Davies) after an intense opening aerobic workout! Oh yes… did I mention Burgess has also decided to make this a comedy as well, just to add to the challenge! Shaz is one of five friends who are clearly living life to the full, however when Adam (Dylan Aiello) finds his body taking longer to recover from the party lifestyle than usual, a check-up leads to his being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, the projected two year life expectancy a devastating blow the effects of which will ripple through into his relationship and his close group of friends.
Whilst Burgess’s score becomes decidedly less toe-tapping as we see Adam work through a plethora of emotions including denial, anger and depression, he skilfully continues to weave the dialogue in and out of the songs as a powerful way to convey the journey all of the main players are on, and whilst the harsher realities of Adams condition are never shied away from, the tone is never allowed to become maudlin. Neither does it avoid the struggle, not only for Adam but also for the well observed rejection of his well meaning friends and particularly his partner Darryl, (a strong performance from Dominic Sullivan), who finds his role transformed into carer and general punch bag upon which Adam repeatedly unloads all his anger and frustration.
Having been made aware of Stephen Hawkins journey in coping with the same disease, Adam decides to take a new, radical and aggressive approach to his condition. Beyond Hawkins own use of a synthesised voice, Adam wants to seek out every cutting edge technology to replace the failing parts of his organs and cognitive functions. It’s a frustrating journey given technology is seldom developed at the same pace at which it is required, but it instills in Adam a whole new sense of hope and determination. With the addition of Adam’s decision to let a somewhat less than sympathetic film crew document the whole journey Burgess is able to inject plenty of dark humour into his story.
Though some of the dialogue can feel a little clunky on occasion, (“It’s a tricky next step…” says a wheelchair bound Adam about his treatment, “although obviously all my steps are tricky!”), in other places the rather more tongue-in-cheek approach is successfully implemented as a way to shake up the mood between scenes, “Clear the stage”, Shaz declares….”I can feel a song coming on!” And indeed a song is what we get. Burgess also gets good comedic mileage out of a group of scientists who are developing the cutting edge technology that might just help Adam, presented here in a delicious caricature form as ‘boffins’, whose appearances bring a recurring lightness to the story. These ‘boffins’ are a group of several characters we see the three supporting actors inhabiting throughout. James Lowrie does a great job as friend Ben as well as one of the circular-rimmed bespectacled boffins, whilst Jude St. James plays friend Ruth and the doctor who breaks the news of Adams condition to him, but it’s Mali Wen Davies who excels once again as, having already impressed as Adams friend Shaz, continues to bring light relief in her hilarious portrayal of the somewhat callous documentary producer that satyricaly questions the potentially exploitative motivations behind the telling of similar stories by mainstream media. Thankfully, the same accusation can’t be levied against Burgess himself as, whilst it’s true that on the one hand this is a light, and dare I say ‘fun’ production, it also impresses as a vehicle through which he is able to highlight the ultimate tragedy of the story. Entertaining as much as it is illuminating, the use of such robust humour often amplifies the more heartbreaking moments, and when Adam speaks his final few words to his partner before a tracheostomy will rob him of his voice forever, this heartbreaking moment remains robbed of none of it’s potency by what has gone before.
Finding the right actor to play Adam was always going to be key to this productions overall success given the gamut of emotional responses he must inhabit, and despite all the fantastical qualities often associated with musical theatre, Dylan Aiello’s performance nails the complexities of the ever-changing emotions inherent in dealing with a life-changing diagnosis and manages to infuse Supersonic Man it’s emotional heart, portraying his character with a lust for life despite falling victim to such tragic circumstances. Whilst it’s something I’m not entirely sure the marketing for this ultimately heartwarming production has quite managed to capture, I can guarantee that if you go and see Supersonic Man for yourself you will be both entertained and moved in equal measure.
★★★★
Supersonic Man is on at the Southwark Theatre Borough until 3rd May. Tickets available here
review: Simon J. Webb
photography: Louis Burgess