Club NVRLND, Assembly Checkpoint Review
Written by Penny for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
With a book by Oliver Award nominee Jack Holden (Cruise, KENREX), Club NVRLND is described as “an irreverent, high-energy, nostalgia-fuelled immersive party” featuring the biggest 2000s anthems and a reunion between Wendy and Peter Pan. She’s about to get married but finds herself thrown back into a world of adventure. What could possibly go wrong?
It's a clever concept – taking JM Barrie’s eternally young creation and having him grow up, throwing him and the other characters from the classic tale into a nightclub rave - for example, Tinkerbell is the DJ and Tiger Lily is our MC, played by Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestant Le Fil, in one of the show’s stronger performances.
The plot is largely irrelevant and pretty thin – this show may be sold on Holden’s recent successes but it lacks his usual masterful storytelling. Instead it’s all about the music as the dialogue seems to just act as a brief link between songs rather than having any great importance. At times it’s difficult to hear the actors and as the audience is standing throughout with the crowd packed in to get that full rave experience, if you’re on the short side, it’s hard to even see them.
It's a bit of a marmite show – and would perhaps be better sold as a nightclub experience with a Peter Pan theme. Audience reactions were split between those from the generation ripe for some 2000s nostalgia (jumping up and down and loving every minute) to those whose own nightclub bangers would be from the 90s, 80s, and earlier (confused faces and edging towards the exit).
If you’re looking for a high-energy spectacle, the bright lights, loud music, and slick choreography all deliver. Sadly, the energy drops when it comes to the actual storytelling, and more work is needed on the plot and its delivery for Club NVRLND to succeed as a piece of theatre.
Club NVRLND starts at 2115 and runs for 90 minutes at Assembly Checkpoint (venue 322) until Sunday 24th August. Find out more and book here.
★ ★
