Audiences are transported to a funny but chaotic fantasy land in Betwixt, reviewed by Emma Berge.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin.
Once upon a time there was a new comedy musical called Betwixt, which resided in the not-so-far-off kingdom of Trafalgar Studios. Starring in this musical was Benedict Salter, who was expressive of face and ginger of head. Salter played Bailey Howard, a writer who was trying to finish his second novel before his wicked agent realised that he hadn’t even started it.
Joining Salter as Cooper Fitzgerald was Stephen Webb, who was funny, charismatic, and favourably reviewed in Dick Whittington the previous Christmas. Together, these two friends made the audience laugh with witty lines and campery. But all was not well, for they were quickly whisked away to a fantasy land, where a plot against the princess was hastily explained by clumsy exposition, which was almost made acceptable by pointing the clumsiness out through jest.
And so the two friends went off into the set-less forest, where they soon came upon strange characters played by the ensemble, who had already proven themselves worthy. The ensemble were fair of face, tuneful of voice and spirited in their dancing of the fantastic choreography by Grace Harrington. Amongst them was Will Hawksworth, a man so funny that he could make the audience laugh with just a blink. But despite their greatest efforts, they could not cover up for weakness and confusion in the narrative.
Things got worse for our hero when Ellen Greene came on to seduce him as the Nymph Queen, for though the years had treated her well, Greene was more than old enough to be Salter’s mother – and that just isn’t Disney.
But just as things were looking grim, the second act started. The songs began to redeem themselves with ‘A Strange Sort of Love Song’, sang by our hero, and Miranda the disembodied head, played by Ashleigh Gray. Webb further battled the evils of the disjointed first act with a number which did rip the piss out of Chicago mightily, and Webb and Gray joined forces with the worthy ensemble to perform a terrific tap routine – ‘Paparazzi Rag’.
Yet whilst our heroes battled bravely, they did not entirely win out; Ellen Greene as the Enchantress did not win over the audience with her slushy solo, and the plot petered out with some sentimental cliches. But our hero survived the encounter with the uneven writing, and he and his trusty friend became loved throughout all of Trafalgar Studios.
The End.
Betwixt runs at Trafalgar Studios until 20 August.
Image: Marilyn Kingwill
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