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- [00:00]
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Hey guys, I'm Patrick Schwarzenegger, the founder of Mosh, which is a protein bar made specifically for your brain. Our bars are not only nutritious, but they are absolutely delicious and they are loaded with up to 13 grams of protein, only 3 grams of sugar and amazing ingredients that support a healthy brain like lion's mane, Ashwagandha, vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and so much more. But the best part is every time you purchase one of our bars, we we donate to Alzheimer's research. So if you want to find ways to give back to others and fuel your body and your brain, Mosh bars are the perfect choice for you. Head to moshlife.com pod20 to get 20% off plus free shipping on the best sellers trial pack or the new plant based trial pack. That's 20% off plus free shipping on either the best sellers trial pack or the plant based trial pack@moshlife.com pod 20.
- [00:56]
Earnin Representative
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- [01:26]
Mickey Jo
Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start. Thumbtack knows home so you don't have to don't know the difference between matte paint, finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is With Thumbtack. You don't have to be a home pro, you just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app. Download today. For years now this has been the show that was viral on TikTok that people were desperate for me to talk about that I knew absolutely nothing about. Finally, I am very pleased to tell you that I have seen it and I have ridden the cyclone as it were and I survived to tell you all about it. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to those of you listening to this on podcast platforms. My name is Mickey Jo and I am obsessed with all things theatre. I am a professional theatre critic here on social media and today we are going to be talking all about Ride the Cyclone, the UK premiere production which opened last week at Southwark Playhouse Elephant here in London. The show, which was written by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, had its world premiere back in 2009 on, I believe, in Canada. It wouldn't make its way to the US until 2015 and it would be another decade before it would make its highly anticipated UK premiere. But in the years in between, it managed to go super viral on TikTok. Everyone became obsessed with the Ballad of Jane Doe and by extension the rest of the show and these characters and this story. And I have been so intrigued to get to see a full production of it and find out what the hype is all about. And so that is exactly what I did. This is one of the first shows that I was determined to see when I got back from New York. I was away for the official press night, but I went to some playhouse to see it earlier this week and now I'm going to tell you all about it. We are going to talk about the writing, about these characters, about the tone, about whether it lives up to the expectations set by its social media virality and its cult status. We're going to talk about the cast, the creative choices, the material, all things. Ride the Cyclone today. And if you have had a chance to see this production or any previous production already, I would love to know what you think of the musical in the comments section down below. And as always, if you want to stay up to date with all of my theatre reviews, make sure to subscribe right here. Turn on notifications so you don't miss any upcoming videos or follow me on podcast platforms. In the meantime, why don't you and I together ride the Cyclone? So spoiler alert. Not unlike the Cyclone roller coaster discussed within the show, this musical is somewhat unhinged and the roller coaster part may be obvious. What may be a little less obvious is the incredibly morbid premise. This isn't really a spoiler because it's all in the exposition and we follow the St. Cassian Chamber Choir from Uranium City, Saskatchewan. Specifically, we follow them into purgatory, as explained by our narrator, the Amazing Karnak, who is one of those audio animatronic circus machines in the little booth that you can put a coin into, and he has the ability to predict the exact circumstances, that is to say, the time and means of your death. Now, when we become acquainted with him, he is being stored in a warehouse. And the genius of this premise, as he begins to tell us about the St. Cassian High School Chamber Choir, who have all died in a grisly roller coaster accident, is that not only do their lives hang in the balance, so does Carnax. Even though he is not really alive, he is just a robot. He makes clear to us in the early moments of introduction that his power cable is slowly being chewed through by a rat named Virgil, who he dubs his executioner. There's a brilliant line here where he says, since there's nothing more based than death this evening, Virgil will play the bass. Loved that. And it goes one step further. There's another joke in there as well. It's from the beginning, very fourth wall breaking as making comments about theater armrests. And a line presumably added in for Southwark Playhouse where he says, like, the armrest to your left is for you, the one to your right is for your neighbour. And imagine how much better that joke would have landed if the sadists who built this theatre had actually installed armrests. And he subsequently goes on to tell everyone to turn off their phones and that none of the calls anyone is going to receive for the next hour or so are going to have life altering consequences. Except for one of you. At which point a spotlight shines brightly and rudely on one particular audience. Audience member. So we arrive at this place very early on in the show where he's like, hi, I'm the amazing Karnak. I'm about to die. These children already have, and so will one of you. Which as far as the material and ushering us all into the tone of this wacky show goes, does a great job at reframing our perspective, perhaps on death, because it's something that we're going to have to get used to. Like I said, the entire show takes place in this purgatorial realm. And after we get a little bit of Backstory on the St. Cassian Chamber Choir and the circumstances of their death, riding a roller coaster together when something breaks at the apex and they fly off of it, which I have logistical questions about, because as I'm thinking about this in my head, I'm imagining them going up to the top of something and then it breaking. And you don't have momentum at the top, like you have a lot of gravitational potential and you're going to just fall down. But there's a lot of discussion of them flying and sort of careering through the air as if they've been shot off of it, which would only happen on a downhill stretch. But it's possible I'm overthinking the exact way in which they plummet off of a roller coaster to their violent end. Now we meet five of them in these moments of exposition, but once they arrive in the realm after life, we are acquainted with one more who is introduced to us as Jane Doe because her head was separated from her body during the accident and never recovered, so she was never identified. And devastatingly, no one could account for or recall any additional student. So she is pushing around a small perambulator with the headless body of a doll in it. And the implication of her design is that she has the enlarged head of a doll acting as her own head, and she's sort of haunting and spooky and has no sense of her own identity or, it seems, how terrifying she is to everyone else. Now the choir learns, as does the audience, that they have the chance for one of them, and only one of them to be resurrected and to have a chance to begin a new life. If this is sounding a little bit familiar, it's because it's startling to the plot of Cats. And I have discovered that I love a competition musical, and there are several of them that utilize this format very, very well. But Cats is the one that this feels the closest to, because the ultimate prize that's on offer is the same, the chance to be reborn once more and lead a new life. Only in Cats, they're already all alive to begin with. Unless Cats this entire time has been taking place in a purgatorial realm which I hadn't considered and may, in fact, make it make more sense. May Cats this whole time has been in hell. Are the Jellicle Cats in hell? Have we never thought about this? Once more, I have become sidetracked by Cats. But the thing about this format is that it really does work the competition element. It works for shows like the 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and six the musical and a Chorus Line. And what all of these shows have in common is that it empowers the different individuals in the lineup, whether they are Tudor queens or auditioning Broadway dancers, to one by one introduce themselves to each of us and sing about their lives, their experiences, their aspirations in these very presentational show stopping numbers, which is more or less what you can expect from the musical Ride the Cyclone. Each of these characters is going to sing about themselves and, to some extent, why they deserve to be the winner and to have a new life. Except for the fact that this Idea gets a little bit lost in the mix. One thing that's very important to note here is that these are adolescent characters whose focus is a little bit vague and who, when given this kind of a platform and the chance to sing about their aspirations while reckoning with the fact that their lives as they know it have ended entirely, increasingly want to talk about something other than the actual lives that they have led. It goes into more of an absurd fantasy realm from one song to the next. It sort of gets wilder and wilder in ways which I will detail when we talk about the performances. But I want to talk a little bit about the writing and the tone of this material because it is very sort of starkid familiar. It's that kind of sort of black comedy, irreverent and bizarre thing that later Millennial and Gen Z audiences really enjoy. Beetlejuice, I guess, touches on some similar ideas in talking about death and doing so with a grin. But so much of this feels really aimed at the personality and sensib of young audiences. It does feel like it's a show with them in mind, because even though we're talking about death and they're trying to decide between them who they're going to vote for and who deserves this unique opportunity at another life after all of them have died. The themes of the Thing and the lessons learned have a lot more to do with coming to terms with themselves and each other and developing a better mutual respect and more meaningful friendships and being able to articulate truths about themselves that they weren't able to during their lifetimes in this small town. Some of them are able to become more alive in Death than they ever were before. That also makes it all sound very worthy and ultimately it is tonally very bizarre and wild in a way that works because you have this strong concept. We understand what the stakes of the Thing are and what the rules of the Thing are. We also very quickly cotton onto what the structure of it is going to be, that they are going to take turns, we are going to learn about each of them so we don't have to be impatient for the details of exposition and understanding. When we have these initial character reactions and you sort of yearn to find out more about them, you quickly come to find out that you are going to if you just wait. Musically, we go through several different styles because a lot of these characters sing in different styles about different ideas. We have a sort of mid 20th century European burlesque sound in there. We have some more aggressive rap that we move into. At one point it gets more futuristic and then operatic. It's very much in response to the utterly different personalities of these characters and the worlds that they create musically and telling the stories that they choose to. But it balances this compelling, lively, uptempo quality with an ethereal feel, switching between these two moods, moving between legitimately kind of haunting and spooky and life affirming, sort of weirdly life affirming, all of this resonating with the deliberately twisted and warped perspective that the show offers on adolescent death. Speaking of which, let me tell you a little bit more about these characters and the actors who are playing.
- [12:34]
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Hey guys, I'm Patrick Schwarzenegger, the founder of Mosh, which is a protein bar made specifically for your brain. Our bars are not only nutritious, but they are absolutely delicious and they are loaded with up to 13 grams of protein, only 3 grams of sugar, and amazing ingredients that support a healthy brain like lion's mane, Ashwagandha, vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and so much more. But the best part is every time you purchase one of our bars, we donate to Alzheimer's research. So if you want to find ways to give back to others and fuel your body and your brain, Mosh bars are the perfect choice for you. Head to moshlife.com pod20 to get 20% off plus free shipping on the best sellers Trial Pack or the new plant based trial pack. That's 20% off plus free shipping on either the best sellers Trial Pack or the plant based trial pack@moshlife.com pod 20.
- [13:29]
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- [14:45]
Mickey Jo
Now it Seems only fitting that we begin with the amazing Karnak himself, portrayed by Edward Wu, since he is the first character that we meet in the show, this production. I don't know if this is always the case. He is stationed above the playing space, looking down on all of them as well as on the audience, which gives him this sort of godlike quality. He delivers all of his lines in a very robotic monotone and adopts a similar physicality as well to go along with that, looking like a sort of a clunky animatronic, but with just enough inflection in his vocal delivery to indicate wit and sarcasm. It's all a really fantastic performance from Edward Wu. And sometimes I think these are some of the hardest characters to play because you're sort of prohibited from misspeaking or reacting with too much humanity. It's. It's not unlike the Mary Poppins's of this world, because it all has to be very sort of perfect in a way. Now, Ocean o' Connell Rosenberg, portrayed by the fantastic Bailey Carson, is the sort of de facto leader of the St. Cassian Chamber Choir, at least she believes herself to be. And she is, I guess, something of a high school bully behind the guise of being a high achiever. Lest Regina George think more. Paris Geller from Gilmour Girls. She is determined upon discovering that only one of them has the chance to win this competition, that it ought to be her, that she is the most deserving, that she will lead the most successful and prosperous life out of anyone. She articulates this by not only saying that clearly she is one of life's winners, but that everyone else is doomed to mediocrity, singing about how each of her friends and schoolmates are losers and inevitable organ donors. And there's a little bit of depth to Ocean's identity here, more so than I first realized when I was listening to this as a cast album. And I love that her name gives us a little bit of a clue as to her character, because she comes from this very liberal background, hence being called Ocean. But she's also o' Connell Rosenberg. She tells us at one point that she had a Catholic confirmation and a Jewish bat Mitzvah in the same week, all of that under the. The umbrella of high achieving. And she begins to wrestle with a conflict during the show between wanting to have a life for herself, but also wanting to truly do the right thing, rather than just being a performative activist, which is sort of what she's been up to this point. And because she is so focused and so Studious. Her song is entirely on point. It's sort of the pee point, evidence, explanation, presentational version of what this could be, an argument for your life over everybody else's. Almost immediate afterwards, we start to go a little bit off topic with these songs because next we hear from Noel Gruber, who is introduced to us as, I think, the most romantic boy in town. He's played by Damon Gold and Noel believes himself to be the only young queer person, the only gay man in Uranium City. He is obsessed with French New wave cinema and has an alter ego that he has crafted based on a Marlene Dietrich character, one which he sings about and then portrays as he, in this very Sally Bowles esque kind of musical number, idealizes is as this beautifully miserable existence. And if Noel has been freed of his earthly inhibitions by the sweet embrace of a violent, violent death, that only continues for our next couple contestants. Next is Misha Bachinsky, portrayed by Bartek Krasiewski. Misha is a Ukrainian born Soundcloud rapper described to us as the angriest boy in town. We, before he begins his song, have heard about his fiance Talia, who Ocean at least believes to be fictional. And in initially somewhat less than sincere lyrics, Misha forms a rap number with the support of everyone else. Like in six the Musical, everyone does each other's backing vocals and it becomes very heightened and theatricalized, which, because it's a musical, doesn't necessarily require a robust explanation or justification. But there is a moment when we see Karnak manipulating all of them and moving them around against their will. So the idea here is that he just, he just wants to see an hour of good, compelling musical theater. Truly, I can think of no better way to die. His song, though, metamorphosizes into more of a romantic space as he reflects on Talia, his beloved. And that is not the only amorous inclination that we encounter in the show when we move on next to Ricky Potts. Now, Ricky's character has had something of a shift since earlier versions of the show because I believe he was initially written to be physically disabled, which was later amended to trauma induced muteness. When Ricky begins to speak upon their arrival to wherever it is that they are together, they are surprised that Ricky is talking because he didn't do this when he was participatory in the I will remind you chamber choir where he played the tambourine. Ricky is portrayed in this production by the very talented Jack Maverick. It's his professional debut, I should point out. Actually, for about half of this cast, it is their professional debut, which is very exciting. Jack is an actor of short stature, which I feel lends some degree of authenticity to the portrayal of Ricky and to this idea of his disenfranchisement, certainly this sense of being othered within this group. Ricky is also an arguably, I think, the character who has experienced the most significant transformation beyond death. Not only newly able to speak, but very eager to articulate and portray the fantasies that he has been exploring about his life as a sexy, swinging, space age bachelor man on a science fiction planet made of cat people. A race who he, I believe, and I hope I'm getting this right, is expected to save from extinction via sexy space cat times. And after five years of working in education, it would be disingenuous for me to tell you that there aren't any students who are having daydreams with, you know, similar themes. But it's a great number and it really cements the lunacy that we have found by the time we arrive at this moment in the show. Jack also interpolates a handful of impressive acrobatic stunts into his performance and plays this resentment that he can finally express against Ocean really well. That's one of the great things that Damon and Bartek are able to play. Damon has some brutally savage, sarcastic line readings, and Bartek is very, very funny, but also has this very real exposed heart and vulner vulnerability behind the bravado of his characterization. Readying us perhaps for this shift into the slightly more sincere and emotional. And this is maybe one of the shortcomings of the material. I don't know whether there's a production that could manage it in such a way that this doesn't feel like something of a whiplash inducing corner turn in a bumper car. But essentially what we're about to move towards is a space with a little more honesty and vulnerability that we're kind of ill placed for because of the last three songs that have just happened, everything gets increasingly more bizarre. And in the giddy haze of all of that insincerity, it's a little bit difficult to grasp at something real. Which isn't to say that it doesn't play well. It does. And next up, we have perhaps the most loved song of the show, which is the Ballad of Jane Doe. And a big part of the original appreciation of this on social media and its virality was the way in which it has often been staged with a performance flying through the air and doing somersaults and spinning upside down, recreating their death flying off of the Cyclone roller coaster. While they are singing and sustaining these high notes like Christine Daae and this production at Southwark Playhouse, Elephant does not necessarily have those capabilities. Instead, we have a series of illusions. And I can tell you who on the creative team was responsible for these. That's Richard Pinner, illusion designer. Which actually began in the earliest moments of the show's exposition when we, a headless figure, arrive on stage on this revolve brought into the playing space. It's a nice little one, two surprise. Because they're standing so still, we assume that it's just a sort of a mannequin statue. And then they begin to walk and push around this pram while singing this haunting vocal that we will hear again later once Jane Doe arrives. She is portrayed by Grace Galloway, who sounds absolutely fantastic, has the most impeccable vocal control over this most audacious song. It's a huge sing. And while she doesn't fly or get tilted upside down while she's singing it, there is a moment when she disappears back into a box and we see her disembodied head rise mysteriously above her body. I think that's a really well achieved illusion. I dare say the production would benefit from just like one more thing. If something else had happened first, perhaps she could be like physical theater, lifted into the air for the most part. I think it's a really innovative and clever production that doesn't rely on, you know, big impression, impressive set pieces. It's all in the staging and the physicality and the movement to tell this story and to create each of these different numbers. Grace is great though. I had no doubt that she was going to sing it brilliantly. Bailey Carson also needs to be shouted out for vocals as well. Lots of lovely tone and great control in the upper vocal ranges. I do think in terms of the sound design of the whole thing, I wanted to be impacted by vocals just a little bit more. I just wanted a little bit more. More strength in the mixing. Like the vocals were present, there was clarity, they were distinguishable. I just wanted them to hit me more than they did. Alongside singing, though, Grace Galloway also really great in the scenes as Jane Doe in these comedy moments of being terrifying and the way that she was utilizing her face, just this wide eyed, disembodied stare that she had. Really great stuff. Finally, then, another professional debut for Robin Gilbertson as Constance Blackwood. Constance is the nicest girl in town, one who, unlike just about everybody else, is actually proud of where she comes from and is finally able to really come to terms with that in the moments before her death when she is flying over the uranium city that she realizes she unapologetically loves, even if that doesn't seem cool to anyone else, Constance's journey is very sort of Sister Mary Robert from Sister Act. She finds her own strength finally to be able to stand up to Ocean, who though her friend is very dismissive of her her and expects this unfailing loyalty while not really offering her any kind of a mutual respect. But as we begin to reach the end of the show, it's very satisfying to watch Robin as Constance pull down that lever and then finally feel like she can speak honestly and then sing honestly about her life and her perspective on it. And coming out of the Ballad of Jane Doe, which is this utterly morbid reckoning of an individual who wonders if they even still have a soul in their body or if it is lost somewhere with their missing hair, Constance sings about how happy and giddy she feels now on this metaphorical sugar cloud, really just hammering home this show's utterly unique point of view when it comes to death and life. Finally, then, you may know Ride the Cyclone. You may have seen Ride the Cyclone before, but you might not know about this production. Let me tell you about the new UK premier production at Southern.
- [26:05]
Patrick Schwarzenegger
Hey guys, I'm Patrick Schwarzenegger, the founder of Mosh, which is a protein bar made specifically for your body brain. Our bars are not only nutritious, but they are absolutely delicious and they are loaded with up to 13 grams of protein, only 3 grams of sugar and amazing ingredients that support a healthy brain like lion's mane, Ashwagandha, vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and so much more. But the best part is every time you purchase one of our bars we donate to Alzheimer's research. So if you want to find ways to give back to others and fuel your body and your brain, Mosh bars are the perfect choice for you. Head to moshlife.com pod20 to get 20% off plus free shipping on the Bestsellers Trial Pack or the new plant based trial pack. That's 20% off plus free shipping on either the Best Sellers Trial Pack or the plant based trial pack@moshlife.com pod20 taking.
- [27:01]
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- [27:32]
Mickey Jo
Playhouse. Now, before we talk about the creative choices made on stage by director Lizzy G and team, I have to really shout out everything they're doing in the foyer space of Southwark Playhouse Elephant because I've never seen the venue so transformed. Not only do they have a fun and novel photo opportunity in front of a board where you can sit in a bumper car with the ride the Cyclone logo behind you, they also have have fairground games and you can try and toss a hoop onto a ring or you can hook a duck. They have funhouse mirrors. They've added in a popcorn machine. More merchandise than I've ever seen for an off West End show before. You can get specialty drinks and themed snacks. There is this little booklet here for it's called a choir practice logbook, but it's for repeat visits to the show if you go back to see it more than once. A very smart thing for the producers to be implementing for a musical that before it even began to previews already had an audience of eager die hard fans. And you get prizes for claiming these stamps from your second visit to the show onwards, which is fantastic. I have said before that given how often a lot of audience members go back to see the same show over and over and over again, more of them should be implementing loyalty schemes. And it's not like a full KitKat club style immersive experience beforehand. It's a handful of fairground games and some cute ideas in terms of what they can sell at the bar and some great merch that's been put in put together. But it makes the difference and I think especially when you're entreating a younger audience to come into the theater, it's great to be able to deliver those kind of things in a theater going experience. This is a one act show. You know you're not going to be in the building for as long because there's not an interval. And if you have a lot of great experiences and photo opportunities and ways to engage with your evening beforehand, then I think people are going to be less inclined to try and film or take pictures during the show, but also so it gives you a more well rounded evening. I love going to the theater and I love when that gets to be an activity and a celebration in and of itself rather than just the part where we sit in the dark and watch something fun happening on stage. But let's talk about what's happening on stage. And I really enjoy this production. The best off western musicals are the ones which are staged innovatively and creatively. And don't get me wrong, there is a gorgeous and full set here, probably the best I've ever seen in. In this slightly challenging space that doesn't offer you much by way of depth and which plays to a very wide audience with some sat at a very wide angle to the stage on three sides and on an upper level. This has been designed, as are the costumes by Ryan Dawson, late, who is just brilliant. And we have a revolve that can bring things on stage from behind a curtained area on that curtain when it's closed. There are various projections that show childhood pictures of the characters on stage as well as little bits of information about them. Sets, different scenes. Ostensibly, the entire show is taking place in just one singular, eerie location. But as I've mentioned, these shows take us to various different extreme places. We go to smoky, post war France, we go to cat space. And director and choreographer Lizzie G. Makes brilliant use of the space, makes great use of this revolve and makes great use of this compact for very exciting physical storytelling. One of the first things that I really noticed about Six the musical when I first saw it on the fringe in an inflatable cow years ago, was how each of these numbers felt like a knockout. And that wasn't just because the writing was fantastic and the performances were fantastic. It's the way in which each of them had a slightly distinct feel in terms of the staging. And it was the backing vocals and the group choreography that helps to really land that and ride. The Cyclone has that as well. Spelling bee and a chorus line and even 6 itself all realize that they have to switch up the structure a little bit. And we can't just do it's your song. Now it's your song. Now it's your song. We need some sense of variety. And Cyclone, which is in many ways a smaller show than any of those, engages with that idea a little bit. But it also finds variety in the tonal and musical shift between each number that is very well realized by this production itself. And we get very different visual identities to each of these songs. There are some moments I think could be pushed a little bit further. I don't know that Misha's song and the transition from his first moment to his reflections on Thalia are necessarily realized as meaningfully as they could be. Because we do a lot with projections of Talia on the back screen. I'm also very aware of the fact that if you are sat on those seats that are the most wide to the stage, you may not be appreciating the full benefit of that or necessarily everything that Karnak is doing up above the playing space. I also think there are probably a few more moments that we could incorporate the revolve just because it's used more heavily at the start of the show and it's really great when it is. The entire way that this is staged made me very intrigued about the capacity of this production to be picked up and put down somewhere else. Maybe like one of the smaller theaters in the commercial West End. I know that's something that people have been asking about whether Ride the Cyclone would be likely to get a West End transfer. I dare say that that's something that the producers are might be exploring after the great reception that the show has had so far, after the great ticket sales, especially for an off West End show. And I think while it is empowered to play very well to this unique sort of three sided thrust space, the way that the set itself is actually designed could be put on a more traditional proscenium and just plonked down somewhere like the Criterion or the Ambassadors or the Trafalgar. And it would play very well in a more traditional end on theatrical setting as well. I actually think I might enjoy parts of it more there because. Because though I loved the performers being in such proximity to us, that's one of the great things about seeing a Northwest End show and going out through the diagonal aisles, out through the audience. I think there's something about their circumstances that would be better conveyed through a greater sense of claustrophobia and feeling slightly more stuck within the playing space. I feel like the fourth wall needed to exist for them in terms of this kind of a bubble that way the tension and the anxiety of their circumstances and the whole kind of Big Brother feel of all of them still stuck together even though they didn't necessarily get on during life. And having to eventually pick someone who is going to get to return to it would really come across. Ryan Dawson Lake's costumes I really enjoyed. I particularly thought the way that Karnak was designed and that goes into the makeup as well, and the way that Jane Doe was with the makeup and with the hair, I thought really brilliant work. That's Dominic Skinner as the makeup designer really worked for me. Very spooky. And it was just another successful way in which the team designed, delivered the oddity of this show. I Do think in terms of the direction, it could have been a little slicker. There is an awkwardness in the dialogue deliberately as they are sort of brushing up against each other and there are mounting tensions. There were a couple of prolonged pauses that began to just sort of hang in the air for me. I think the whole thing could have a little bit more of a pace to it. I do think there's something of an imbalance where Ocean kind of emerges a little bit more as a protagonist among all these charact. But I think that's successful. I think it gives it a sense of guidance and structure. And she ultimately is the one who has the conviction and the confidence to engage with Karnak and reckon with the ultimate challenging choice after everyone has sung all their songs, by which point we have arrived at the end of the show and this very sort of bittersweet reflection on what life is from the perspective of these teenagers who no longer have have one. Which perhaps will speak a little profoundly to the many young audience members who have come to see this show. It was great to see so many young people in attendance. I initially thought they were teenagers and then I realized I'm old now and they're probably like uni students or even people in their early 20s. So that very quickly went from being exciting to upsetting for me. But I had a great time, had a great time at Ride the Cyclone. Now obviously shows like this don't come around very often. It is an utterly unique, unique premise and story. There is clearly an appetite for it. It's interesting to see how far that extends because when something becomes very popular online, as Beetlejuice has learned, perhaps three times now on Broadway, that doesn't necessarily mean it is going to have the same kind of excitement when it comes to the box office in person. That audience is a global one that exists around the world. It means that you can produce shows like Ride the Sun Cyclone in unexpected places and there will be someone there who is excited to go and see it. Whether there are enough people there to sustain an open ended run in a larger theatrical space remains to be seen. But I do think there's nothing to say that this production couldn't work in the commercial West End. There are a handful of theaters where I think that would be possible and it would be great for even more people to get a chance to see this show. There's so much about it in the formula in these performances, in this writing that does just one work. And it's refreshing too to see something like this that has its own voice that is so offbeat alongside a lot of other shows that are maybe beginning to feel a little bit more generic, a little bit more predictable. Ride the Cyclone is anything but. It is also currently sold very well at Southic Playhouse Elephant. There is no confirmation that it will necessarily have a further life in the UK or transfer to the West End. Fans can live in hope, but if you desperately want to to see it, you need to get yourself to its current run at Southwark Playhouse. And of course, don't forget to let me know what you thought of the show in the comments section down below. In the meantime, those are all of my thoughts about Ride the Cyclone. I'm thrilled that I finally got the chance to see this show and I am very excited to see what kind of future it may hurtle towards. Thank you so much as always for listening to this review. I hope that you enjoyed if you did make sure to subscribe, go follow me on podcast platforms and I hope as always that everyone is staying safe and that you have have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a Stagey Day. Subscribe.
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