Homo Alone, The Other Palace (Studio) Review

Reviews

6 Dec

Elliot Evans in Homo Alone. Photo by Mark Senior

Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

Is there anything more quintessentially Christmas than watching Home Alone? This year The Other Palace attempts to top that beautiful 90s classic as it brings us Homo Alone, a hysterical adult panto parody production guaranteed to leave you in stitches of laughter. Written by the fabulous team of Bobby Delaney and Jodie Prenger and skilfully directed by Alex Jackson, this joyously unhinged Christmas cracker of a production is filled to the brim with nostalgic 90s humour, inappropriate jokes, shady punchlines and more than a few hair raising moments.

Homo Alone still focuses on the plot of the original movie with a few key twists. These include Kevin as “the littlest homo” and the father slowly inching his way out of the closet with the help of fairy godmother Celine Dion. Along with his brother Buzz, the mother and the sticky bandits, we see the most significant members of the story acting with stylistic pizazz. These characters are played with absolute comedic genius by Jack North, Elliot Evans, Stephanie Asamoah and Allie Dart. The four actors are utterly phenomenal in making the audience laugh and bringing these beloved characters to life in a unique and semi wholesome way. Their chemistry together was fabulous and it was easy to see that they enjoyed the show and comedy as much as we did in the audience.

The set and costume design by Louie Whitemore balance the tone between cosy nostalgia and modern style. The use of prop houses to showcase the mansion neighbours was a brilliant detail, along with Kevin’s daring escape from the top area of the Other Palace studio. The lighting design by Chris McDonnell also showcases the prankish setups well and really adds to the overall atmosphere. This production doesn’t stop at witty satire however but also includes fabulous original songs by musical director Lauren Hopkins that are rewrites of Christmas classics, including a parody of “Somewhere in My Memories”. It also includes a few panto-esque moments including audience participation jokes and an oh no he isn’t moment. My favourite addition was the choreography by Dale White which takes every opportunity to utilise the space in increasingly athletic ways.

Overall this was a fantastic production which had me in stitches of laughter and balances the line between paying homage to the original but staying true to their unique vision. It still retains the core message of connection and family being critical at Christmas and even adds an extra wholesome twist at the end of the storyline that improves the original movie. At two hours, including a 20 minute interval, the pace is balanced well and leaves you craving another visit while being satisfied with the pacing throughout. If you are a home alone fanatic, a depressed millennial or a lover of all things Christmas then run to The Other Palace to catch Homo Alone before the sticky bandits steal it!