Return to the Forbidden Planet at the Palace Theatre Review
Return to the Forbidden Planet
Palace Theatre, Manchester
4-9 May 2015
www.atgtickets.com/palacetheatre
Reviewed by Ann Durrell
I was not sure what to expect with Return to the Forbidden Planet, but I can honestly say that it was one of the best, if not slightly random, musicals I have seen in a long time. Rock n Roll greats from the 50’s and 60’s including Big Joe Turners ‘Shake Rattle and Roll’ and Elvis’ ‘All Shook up’ had everyone bopping in their seats.
The Oliver Award Winning musical is based on the 1950’s B-movie ‘Forbidden Planet’ which in turn is loosely based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. This tour is the 25th Anniversary production and it is in its final week having been on the road since January. Rather than have a separate band the 11 piece cast of actor musicians play live on stage.
Set on board a spaceship we meet Captain Tempest and his crew including, Cookie the chef, Bosun Arras and the ships new and rather mysterious Science Officer. During an argument the ship runs into a meteor shower, cue Jerry Lee Lewis’s classic Great Balls of Fire. During the confusion the science officer escapes and the ship is drawn to a nearby planet. Once on the ground the crew meet Scientist Dr Prospero who offers to help mend their ship. They learn that Prospero was exiled, along with his infant daughter Miranda, by his evil wife Gloria. Dr Prospero has spent his years in space developing a potion ‘X-Factor’ which will help unlock the human brains true potential and he also created a robot Ariel. Coming on board the spaceship Miranda falls for Captain Tempest but he believes her to be too young and the ships cook falls for Miranda but she does not notice him. Throw in the return of the ex-wife and a monster and you have the story. Don’t worry if you lose hold of the plot as Rock God Brian May pops up on screen and gets you back up to date!
Like its B-movie base, the show is very much tongue in cheek, it does not take itself too seriously. The Shakespeare references can be seen coming from a mile off but as a fan of the Bard this is far from a bad thing. Even before the show started the cast were in character, milling around talking to the audience, I have to say this is always a good way to get the audience fully on board (pardon the pun). There was a smattering of audience participation including having us all pumping our hand over our heads and releasing.
The cast are simply superb, I have never seen a group of such talented actor-musicians. The energy on the stage was outstanding, they swapped between instruments seamlessly and their use of handheld mic’s was impressive! The stand out performance for me had to be Mark Newnham as Cookie, his guitar solo, which was projecting onto a screen on stage, was gob smacking good, he really did rock out. Joseph Mann as Ariel was another brilliant casting, he played the soft hearted robot perfectly, although he was not on roller skates which I am told by fans of the musical differs to other productions.
All of the hits they performed were brilliant, from the Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’ to Roy Orbison’s ‘Only the lonely’ it was all fantastic, the cast did not miss a beat. When they came back onto the stage for the final number, the energy they had after two and a half hours on stage was really infectious. The cast all seemed to really enjoy being a part of the production and I left the theatre with a skip in my step humming along to Marvin Gaye.
This is a must see.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £12.90 to £38.90 (plus £4 transaction fee).
Return to the Forbidden Planet is at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until 9 May 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 3019.
Palace Theatre, 97 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6FT | 0844 871 3019
