Reviewed by Amelia
Ticket was gifted in return for an honest review
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| Photo by Louis Burgess |
It must be said that the fight and grit of the piece is there, but I’m not sure that any of the components are strong enough to elevate it. We begin with an upbeat song to set the scene and introduce all the central characters. We meet Adam (Dylan Aiello) and Darryl (Dominic Sullivan) who are a couple that enjoy partying, exercising and introducing other people into their relationship. Despite thinking that the whole show is too long, I thought this opener was too short. We don’t spend enough time with the characters to develop care and empathy before Adam is first diagnosed, and therefore, it didn’t bother me in the way I wish it would’ve. The cast all had chemistry as friends, but any relationships beyond that were hard to believe in and root for. Adam’s initial reaction is to rot and allow the disease to take over as he is only given 2 years by the doctors, but after some encouragement from Darryl, he decides that he is going to challenge the professionals and do things his own way. The problem with this, is that Adam as a character is rather unlikable, and so, when we spend the rest of the show with his attempts to change the course of the disease and conquer his fate, it becomes tiresome and uninspiring. Chris Burgess says that Adam is a ‘life force’ but he seemed to be a little too forced down our throats. His script for Adam was too packed with metaphors and similes, and it felt like when you’re trying to impress your GCSE English teacher by putting as many technical phrases as possible.
On a more positive note, Sullivan’s character of Darryl was a lot easier to sympathise with and evoked the compassion that I wanted to feel for the rest of the story, supported by friends, who are also much more fleshed out. James Lowrie was consistently funny as Ben, with Jude St. James contrasting as the honest and realistic Ruth. Both excelled as other characters and making the ensemble feel bigger than it was. Mali Wen Davies was the star of the show with every role she took on. Her comedic timing as Shaz was on top form and when she became the TV producer character, she was unstoppable.
I felt the show could’ve been condensed to one act, honing in on the rapidness of MND and the speed at which it takes over someone’s life, as this would then cut out some of the repetitiveness and create a more concise narrative. The score had some good moments, especially when Dominic Sullivan had his times to shine, but I ultimately felt the tone was too confused for the score to emotionally land. I unfortunately didn’t come away from the show with any songs stuck in my head, with juvenile lyrics and simple melodies used throughout.
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| Photo by Louis Burgess |
The depiction of disability and ignorance is a topic that should be discussed more and I applauded the production for taking a swing at it. We didn’t quite get to the right level with this, however, and a lot of Adam’s narcissism came from the fact that he just didn’t want to be in a wheelchair. I think these themes could’ve been handled with slightly more care, so that Adam doesn’t come across as simply angry. I question why shouting and using the f word seems to be the only way someone can express anger and what other significant emotions could’ve been explored if given the opportunity.
Supersonic Man has all the potential to be a moving, imperative piece of theatre, but loses heart in too many places to relay the message that it wants. Of course, theatre is incredibly subjective, and I’m sure there’s plenty of people this reached and landed with far more than me. If you want to see for yourself, catch Supersonic Man at Southwark Playhouse Borough until the 3rd of May.
⭐️⭐️
Tickets are available from https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/supersonic-man/
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| Photo by Louis Burgess |
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