Review by Clara
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
I’ll just get it out of the way: Manic Street Creature has little to do with the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. Instead, this musical shares its title with one of its climactic songs. Manic Street Creature is, first and foremost, a vehicle for Maimuna Memon, showcasing her talent as a writer, composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. She is responsible for the music, book, lyrics, and musical arrangements, and shines in the lead role of Ria.
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| Maimuna Memon and company. Photo by Johan Persson. |
This production fits squarely into the hybrid genre of “gig theatre”, where storytelling is combined with the form of a music gig. We open on Ria recording her debut album with her bandmates Heidi, Finn, and Raz. A brown leather couch, an embroidered rug, and two large windows imply a chic warehouse conversion — in Shoreditch, perhaps?
Ria narrates her story through 11 tracks which take us on a journey through a rocky romantic relationship with heady highs and life-defining lows. Having driven herself from Lancashire to London for a fresh start, she is drawn to Daniel, who sometimes reminds her of memories she is running from. Their experiences, which bring us to settings including a cat café and a psychiatrist’s office, eventually result in Ria’s growth and greater self-awareness.
In the musical’s 95 minutes, Maimuna Memon flits from instrument to instrument, variously playing an acoustic guitar, a keyboard, an electric guitar, and a harmonium. Her clear and resonant voice is one of the standout elements of the production, along with the stamina she demonstrates through her performance. The musical’s sound is mainly acoustic, reaching into rock during the climax of the story. An impactful moment is when the back wall splits to reveal a bank of spotlights, the music swells, and the “gig” of “gig theatre” comes to the fore.
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| Maimuna Memon. Photo by Johan Persson. |
The band members have surprisingly little to do, acting-wise. Ria switches between narration, herself, and other characters, including her Glaswegian boyfriend Daniel.
Manic Street Creature debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022, and it is easy to imagine it working well as a one-woman show. Since then, Maimuna Memon has earned an Olivier Award nomination in 2023 for Standing at the Sky’s Edge, a distinctly-British musical set in a Sheffield council housing estate, and has won an Olivier Award in 2025 for Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, a musical adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. She is clearly ready for meatier, more complex roles — this run of her self-penned musical at Kiln Theatre perhaps marks a full circle moment for her.
It takes courage to tell such a deeply-vulnerable story as Manic Street Creature. Ria’s story is a cautionary tale, and it is also about the healing and processing that can be achieved through creative expression.
⭐⭐⭐½
‘Manic Street Creature’ runs at Kiln Theatre in Brent, London until Saturday, 28 March 2026. Tickets are available from: https://kilntheatre.com/whats-on/manic-street-creature/
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| The cast of Manic Street Creature. Photo by Johan Persson. |
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