Review by: Paul Towers, 26/2/19
American Idiot by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer,
music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong
music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong
A Selladoor Production
Haymarket 26 February – 2 March 2019
“energising and anthemic.”
I first saw the cult rock show that is American Idiot 3
years ago when it toured and hit Curve. At the time I found it energising and
anthemic. My view hasn’t changed in the intervening years. This touring version
retains the energy and innovation of the original with some noticeable tweeks, especially
to the set.
American Idiot started out as a concept album by punk band
Green Day. Additional songs by the band were added as the story was expanded
into a full stage musical. Symptomatic of American youth of the early 20th
century, our anti heroes are searching for a way to escape their soul destroying
non-lives.
Jonny (Tom Milner) is the main protagonist of our band of
disillusioned American teenagers reeling from the cataclysmic disaster of 9/11.
He lurches from one disaster to another with his heroin addiction ultimately
losing him the love of his life. Tunny (Joshua Dowen) is Jonny’s best friend
but rather than falling down the rabbit hole of drug addiction he joins the
military where he is seriously injured and loses a leg. The silver lining is
that he finds true love with his nurse. Will (Samuel Pope), the last of the triumvirate,
has his dreams of travel and escape thwarted when his girlfriend falls pregnant
and he opts to do the decent thing and be a father.
As we took our seats a TV screen showed snippets of
newsreels from 2001; George Bush, the twin towers, the resultant misery. They
all contributed to our trio’s despair and sense of worthlessness.
The show opened with a bang as the punk rock soundtrack
blasted out the title track, American Idiot, and the stage filled with dancers.
The choreography by Racky Plews sizzles as the exuberant cast bounce around.
Creative lighting design by Tim Deiling makes sure that every inch of the
complicated set is used and highlighted whenever needed.
Not everything is hearty and entertaining, although there
are quite a few laughs shoe-horned in. One very brave moment, well more than a
moment, occurs when Jonny graphically shows the horror of trying to find
somewhere to inject his desperate fix of heroin. The silence and explicitness
is terrifying and the entire audience held its breath for him. Nonetheless you
come away with a sense that, despite the horrors of their journeys, these
youngsters may very well end up making something of themselves.
American Idiot is on at Haymarket Theatre until Saturday 2nd
March
Tickets are available at www.haytheatre.com,
but hurry as some days are almost sold out
First published on Western Gazette
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