were I love Meatloaf and, for as long as I can remember, I've been waiting for someone to make a musical out of his songs. They tell a story even without an actual story behind them. Finally, it happened and Bat Out of Hell, closing this Saturday in Manchester before moving to London in just over a month (previews start 5th June), was like a high speed Meatloaf concert.
The story was centred around Strat, a boy constantly stuck at the age of 18 and Raven, a young girl on the eve of her 18th birthday. Naturally, they meet and fall in love but she will continue to age, while her father is someone fighting against Strat and his friends. I felt the whole show had Peter Pan elements, at one point Strat's friends are referred to as "The Lost Boys" and he has a best friend, a boy who doesn't quite fit in with the others, called Tink.
The set was big and bold. Certain parts of the set were restricted from view due to the staging but this was counteracted by the use of cameras and screens, giving you the feeling you were in a future world, looking in on a kind of other dimension. There was, however, a rather random moment, where a car crashes into the orchestra pit and the musicians stagger across the stage! I also completely missed the fact that Strat's motorbike was meant to have crashed at the end of act one! I feel the songs and the actors singing those songs are what make the show, rather than necessarily the story.
When I saw the show, Strat was played by the alternate, Benjamin Purkiss, who blew me away. Meatloaf has a very powerful, distinctive voice and Purkiss lived up to this and more. He made the songs his own and he brought a lovable rogue element to the character. I particularly loved his rendition of 'I Would Do Anything for Love' during the finale, alongside Christina Bennington, as Raven. The chemistry between the two was electric and you truly believed they were two teenagers experiencing the wonders of first love, even if they did have bigger dramas keeping them apart than most 18 year olds.
Raven's parents, played by Rob Fowler and Sharon Sexton, were a perfect pairing and, for me, their version of 'Paradise By the Dashboard Light' was a definite highlight.
Overall, any Meatloaf fan will love this show and by the end, every single member of the audience was on their feet rocking along.
The story was centred around Strat, a boy constantly stuck at the age of 18 and Raven, a young girl on the eve of her 18th birthday. Naturally, they meet and fall in love but she will continue to age, while her father is someone fighting against Strat and his friends. I felt the whole show had Peter Pan elements, at one point Strat's friends are referred to as "The Lost Boys" and he has a best friend, a boy who doesn't quite fit in with the others, called Tink.
The set was big and bold. Certain parts of the set were restricted from view due to the staging but this was counteracted by the use of cameras and screens, giving you the feeling you were in a future world, looking in on a kind of other dimension. There was, however, a rather random moment, where a car crashes into the orchestra pit and the musicians stagger across the stage! I also completely missed the fact that Strat's motorbike was meant to have crashed at the end of act one! I feel the songs and the actors singing those songs are what make the show, rather than necessarily the story.
When I saw the show, Strat was played by the alternate, Benjamin Purkiss, who blew me away. Meatloaf has a very powerful, distinctive voice and Purkiss lived up to this and more. He made the songs his own and he brought a lovable rogue element to the character. I particularly loved his rendition of 'I Would Do Anything for Love' during the finale, alongside Christina Bennington, as Raven. The chemistry between the two was electric and you truly believed they were two teenagers experiencing the wonders of first love, even if they did have bigger dramas keeping them apart than most 18 year olds.
Raven's parents, played by Rob Fowler and Sharon Sexton, were a perfect pairing and, for me, their version of 'Paradise By the Dashboard Light' was a definite highlight.
Overall, any Meatloaf fan will love this show and by the end, every single member of the audience was on their feet rocking along.