Review: Urinetown

Earlier in the year I took Stuart to go see a musical called Urinetown. I didn't know anything about the show but I was pretty captivated by the title. In fact back in 2007 Stuart and I were travelling around New Zealand and we saw posters for the show in Wellington. Although we didn't get to see it there we continued to make jokes about the name throughout our trip. Ever since then I've kept one eye out to see if the show would ever be put on in London. Finally after five years I was rewarded with an email from St James Theatre where a familiar name was included in their upcoming shows list. I quickly brought some tickets for the long awaited Urinetown and looked forward to the show date.

I had never visited St James Theatre before but I was surprised at how small and intimate the space was. As we took our seats the stage was open with a couple of the characters milling about. We were sat in the second row and were right at eye level with the actors. Once the show started however the action took place over two levels so I think any seat in the house would have had a great view.

So what is this strange named musical all about? Urinetown is set in a, perhaps not so distant future, where extreme water shortages have left all water use regulated, including every trip to the bathroom. Based around one of the public bathrooms we follow Bobby Strong as he looks for a better world, where people are not carted off to the mysterious Urinetown for breaking the rules, and somewhere you can pee for free! This is a true ensemble show with some wonderful characters: There's the corporate fat cat Cladwell, his positive and, well hopeful daughter, Hope, the indomitable warden of the bathroom Miss Pennywise and dreamer Bobby Strong. My favourites however were Officer Lockstock and Little Sally. Lockstock and Sally accompany us through the show narrating and helping out with a little exposition every now and then. 

Officer Lockstock taken from the Guardian website

The show was funny, dark, serious, and hard to really explain. I don't think I've laughed so much at the theatre before but it is not an out and out comedy. If anything it is a black comedy with a real message for us, the audience, to think about once we've left. There is one particular shocking bit which really caught me out, and I would love to see the show again just to watch the audience at that part, to see if they had the same reactions as me; laughing and then suddenly taken by surprise at the seriousness of the situation. I really enjoyed the songs, and have recently brought the Broadway version on CD, however, as great as this is, it is not a patch on the live cast we saw at St James. They all worked together beautiful singing and my favourite song had to be 'Run, Freedom Run' which was spectacular live. All in all in was easily the weirdest, and best musical I have seen in a long time, and I love the title - if it wasn't so weird and catchy I wouldn't have remembered it from NZ and may never have taken the chance to see it!

Now I went to see Urinetown back in March this year, and thought that perhaps it was too late for me to review it. However I found out that, although it is no longer on at St James Theatre, it will transfer to the Apollo Theatre at the end of September. With this in mind I wanted to let you know what I thought of the St James' version with the hope you may be tempted to see it on the West End later in the year (I know I will and I hope they keep the same cast)!  In fact it in on until the 25th January 2015 at the Apollo theatre so I'll be going in the New Year.  Get your tickets here!