Supersonic Man: A New Musical, Southwark Playhouse Borough Review

Reviews

13 Apr

Written by Cathie for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review

Trigger warnings: This production contains strong language, flashing lights, loud noises, ableist language, smoking, vaping, suicidal ideation, and adult references.

The title "Supersonic Man" evokes images of Freddie Mercury-style pizazz, psychedelic music, and retro 70s vibes. The set (by David Shields) is filled with joyful Brighton signage and cheerful decor (with some fabulous inflatable swooping seagulls for glamour). However, this is a musical that delights in subverting expectations, and the true heart of this story is very different from how it first appears. Supersonic Man is a very loosely inspired tale based on Peter Scott Morgan, the robotics expert and star of the documentary “The Human Cyborg”, who used his skills to combat his Motor Neurones Disease. He is also famous for being part of the first gay civil partnership and marriage in the UK. This is an ambitious musical, but it doesn’t quite land with the emotional impact it goes for.

We meet the main character Adam (Dylan Aiello), at the peak of his sybarite lifestyle and fitness. In the brief time of health, we see he is living in an excess of hedonism with many drugs, club nights, threesomes and drinking until dawn. We see him meet his partner and friends, but there is not much of a strong bond with them shown prior to his diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease. Aiello is an absolutely incredible actor and really works with beautiful passion and conviction to bring Adam to life. The character Adam however, comes across as so sharply witted that he often slices himself, his social circle and the audience with harsh metaphors and similes. He is also rather Wilde-esque in that he is so in love with himself that it can be difficult to connect with him in the lead up to the horrific disease he is going to endure and eventually die from within two years.

The supporting cast, however, was a much more nuanced group. First, we have his loving partner, Darryl (Dominic Sullivan), who is utterly devoted to Adam in his illness and eventual death. He is a brilliantly layered foil to Adam and a wonderful example of healthy communication, love and support in a relationship. His love for Adam and the other characters is brilliantly rounded, and their character arcs bring much of the compassion and emotional depth of this musical. Jude St. James was incredible as Ruth, the blunt but incredibly caring ex nurse. James Lowrie was a comedic wonder as Ben and brought levity to the darkest moments with ease. The absolute highlight of this show is Mali Wen Davies as the fiery best friend Shaz and an unstoppable riot as the documentary producer. Her comedic timing was phenomenal and truly had me in stitches of laughter.

The tone of the plot shifts often, with all of the songs sung in a major key. The songs themselves are brilliant at propelling the plot along and the five actors create beautiful pentatonic harmony. The songs are numerous and showcase the emotional tones in a nuanced way. The accompanying choreography is delightful and fresh. The tone however, constantly shifts between anger, despair, determination, joie di vivre and brutal reality. These tone shifts are frequent, with many shifts in multiple scenes, so it can feel difficult to keep up and at times had me feeling very disconnected from the emotional pathos of the storyline.

The plot itself focuses on Adam’s diagnosis, progression of the disease and eventual death. This is also peppered with Adam’s use of a documentary to fund his treatments (he will eventually win a bafta for this), his attempts to cyborg himself by creating a voice bank from recordings of himself and extreme operations to try to get ahead of the disease. Adam is not a character that ventures anywhere near close to 2D inspiration figures, as he understandably crashes into anger at his diagnosis and stays there for the majority of the show. He also constantly lashes out at his friends, the ‘boffins’, who make his tech and medical professional in quite vicious but understandable frustration.

Writer Chris Burgess has worked hard to create a show that brings awareness to this disease, the current wave of technology to treat it and the impact of what this disease does to people. However, a musical is a very short timeline to fit all of this critical information in so this show often skips or entirely leaves out a lot of critical information and is so focused on creating it into a comedy that some of the forced jokes take away the emotional resonance that this musical could be. I do think this show has a lot of potential and with some fine tuning could be an absolute powerhouse in theatre and be as iconic as shows like The Little Big Things.

This show can definitely be classed as a “marmite” production in that it will evoke such strong feelings in the audience that they’ll either love it or absolutely hate it. It is, however, a powerful piece that definitely opens up dialogue in theatrical spaces towards representations of disability and the impact that degenerative diseases can have not only on the individual but their social circle as well. This is much needed in society, and I hope this show sparks a wave of productions that also work to open up dialogue and bring awareness to the different terminal diseases and disabilities that over a quarter of us will face in our lifetime.

Running at two hours and twenty minutes, the pacing does feel uneven in that the second half is much swifter and darker than the first half, and the inevitable conclusion feels rushed. The funeral speeches, although poetic feel a harsh contrast in tone after seeing the swan song dance and song from Adam’s mind of living his best cyborg life. Considering the speed which MND often destroys the bodies and lives of those fighting it, thematically it would have been more balanced as a one act show.

If you enjoy shows featuring spectacular songs and choreography, outstanding performances from remarkable actors, and a storyline that delves into the tragedy and journey of discovering a cure for MND and its symptoms, as well as the impact a terminal disease has on us as individuals and our loved ones, then this is the show for you.