★ ★

Reviewer - Penny

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Silvio Berlusconi, former cruise ship crooner, construction king, media mogul, football club owner and Italian Prime Minister, is on trial for tax fraud – finally, the lawyer who has been pursuing him for years has found a charge that will stick. But instead of preparing for trial, Berlusconi decided to write an opera about his life. Chaos ensues. Unfortunately, not in a good way.

I must confess that on arriving at Southwark Playhouse’s new Elephant (and Castle) venue, I did not know a huge amount about Berlusconi and after this confusing new production, written by Ricky Simmonds and Simon Vaughan based on an original idea by Alan Hayling, I am still none the wiser.

The show’s structure is confusing from the start. “Present day” is 2012 and the action jumps back and forth – including a bizarre flashback to Ancient Rome which draws parallels between Berlusconi and the Emperor Tiberius that are not explained – as Berlusconi alternates between his court case and flashbacks that make up the composition of his opera. Initially, we are given the year 1947 on the screens that flank the stage area, and we see young Silvio meeting his friend and fixer Antonio, but as the action unfolds and young Silvio grows up into the divisive figure he eventually becomes, there isn’t a clear timeline.

The action takes place on a set that feels like an obstacle course for the cast. It’s a grand set of stairs that you’d see leading up to a courthouse or an ancient building and while it allows the actors to work on multiple levels, a lot of the time I felt that they were running up and down the stairs for no good reason. It also led to a few worrying moments for female cast members navigating it in heels – luckily nobody fell but the fear was always there. The use of screens to project news reports was very effective. It gave a very clear sense of the trial by media that we are all now used to, but also gave us some good close ups of the actors.

Another major problem for me is that a central character in any show must either have some redeeming features or face their comeuppance. The character of Berlusconi, although brilliantly played by Sebastien Torkia, is an unashamed slimeball. Torkia’s performance oozes sleaze, corruption and arrogance. He is ridiculously over-confident, regularly breaking the fourth wall to address the audience and holding eye contact so well that only the bravest audience member doesn’t look away first. It is actually a mesmerising performance but one that made me absolutely loathe the character so I took no pleasure in his “happy ending”. This is mainly down to the writing which did not allow for any positive traits. Instead, it accentuated his arrogance, entitlement and repulsive sexist attitudes. Constantly referring to women as “bitch”, “dragon”, “cougar”, “slut” etc. is not remotely funny. This may be a true reflection on Berlusconi the man but it does not make for an entertaining musical.

The key women in Berlusconi’s life are amongst the few positives in the production. There are three main characters, played by phenomenally talented women who are doing the best they can with the material – Veronica the ex-wife (Emma Hatton), Fama the weather girl turned news reporter (Jenny Fitzpatrick), and Ilda the prosecutor seeking to bring him to justice (Sally Ann Triplett). When the trio sing together everything lifts. Their voices blend beautifully in some of the show’s better songs. Although it is Berlsconi’s “opera”, it is the women who ultimately have control, although frustratingly they all feel as if they could do with more development and feel rather one-dimensional. In the second act, they are joined by Natalie Kassanga playing Bella, the girl who exposes Berlusconi’s grim “bunga bunga” sex parties. She has a show-stopping number as she tells her story, it’s the highlight of the show.

Less successful is the portrayal of Berlusconi’s parents. A recurring theme is his mother singing about how he used to be such a good boy. It adds nothing as everything else that we have been shown makes it clear that he is anything but “good”. A duet between Berlusconi and his mother (singing from heaven because, well, why not?!) is particularly jarring as Susan Fay’s mother offers a gentle tone to her vocals in total contrast with her wayward son bellowing his lines in her face. This is a directorial choice that doesn’t work, if we’re to have any sympathy with Berlusconi he needs to show us a softer side.

The chaos does not let up in the second act. We are introduced to a topless (of course) Vladimir Putin (Gavin Wilkinson) who sings a bizarre duet with Berlusconi as they appear to go on a date. It is so random that it brings the biggest laughs of the night, but is a rare moment that the comedy actually works. The writing is not exactly subtle. When you are rhyming “election” with “erection” it’s clear that this is not top level satire. But it’s a relief to just go with the madness and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

I think the Putin section works because it is so utterly ridiculous. For the rest of the show, the madness is undermined by the fact that Berlusconi is impossible to like. The fact that it takes a murderous dictator like Putin to put Berlusconi’s crimes into perspective is an indication that perhaps he is not the right subject matter for a musical.

Ultimately Berlusconi is not bad enough to garner a cult following, but it is not good enough to deserve a longer run. The cast is largely fantastic and they deserve much better material to work with. Their performances are worth an extra star. There is definitely the germ of an idea there but the book needs a LOT of work. The show is also way too long. Advertised as running at two hours, it was nearer to two hours and forty-five minutes.

When I see a show that is based on real people, the measure of its success for me is how keen I am to jump down a rabbit hole and find out more about them. Sadly, after Berlusconi the Musical, if I never hear his name again it will be too soon.