There's not much subtlety going on in EUGENIUS, the pop musical currently playing at the Turbine Theatre. But then again when a musical is this much fun then there is not much need for subtlety anyway. This musical became a cult hit at the Other Palace in 2018 and has now received its long awaited revival courtesy of the tiny Battersea theatre.
In a nutshell, talented writer of comic books Eugene dreams of Tough Man and his friend Super Hot Lady and wakes to write their adventures down. A Hollywood scout visits his school where his unfiltered geeky friend Feris and love smitten Janey for whom Eugene is a secret crush, push Eugene into declaring his comic book writing. As it turns out Hollywood is very impressed, and he is whisked off to Los Angeles to begin work on a Tough Man movie to be directed by the fearsome Lex Hogan. But is Hollywood all it's cracked up to be? Suddenly the movie starts to veer away from Eugene's original story and what is worse, he finds himself distanced from his friends Feris and Janey. Then it turns out that the evil Lord Hector is real, and arrives from distant space to take revenge on his estranged brother Tough Man.
It is easy to see why this show captivated so many in its previous incarnation. It's campy, fun and with great 1980s inspired songs and some scintillating performances. The way the limited space of the Turbine has been transformed is beautiful to behold, it proves that you don't need a huge space and millions spent on a show to have a brilliant night out. Elliott Evans as Eugene is a perfect leading man, ridiculously good looking with a voice of an angel, he is the focus of the show as the troubled teenager. James Hameed as his bombastic best friend Feris gets a lot of the laugh lines, and lights up the stage with sheer energy whenever he appears. Jaina Brock-Patel is perhaps the vocal lynchpin of the show, with her big power ballad voice soaring through the numbers as her love for Eugene grows. Lara Denning as Lex Hogan, bitch director and manipulator, proves a powerhouse and is perhaps the villain of the piece with money is clearly her prime motivation, seeking to exploit Eugene to the max. Joseph Bleach chews the scenery on every entrance as the evil Lord Hector, the alien with attitude. A showstealer if ever there was one. Dominic Andersen once again impresses (following his turns in West End try outs What's New Pussycat? and Mrs. Doubtfire), excelling in his roles as the school bully, Gerhard the challenged German actor and more tender scenes as Eugene's Dad. Lets not forget Rhys Taylor dragged up as the Space Diva at the beginning of the show and then as camp Theo, assistant to Lex, with his penchant for musical theatre icons. Meanwhile Maddison Firth gives us a bimbo actress Carrie a.k.a. Super Hot Lady. She is spot on as she delivers her laugh lines with style whilst unveiling a terrific singing voice.
Director Hannah Chissick has given us a slick show, fully utilising the Turbine space into a loud, colourful intergalactic spectacular. The songs are so full of earworms, if you are not humming "Listen to the crowd and hear them say, go Euginius..." all the way home you must be deaf! Eugenius is one of the best feel good evenings in London, and we hope this is just the first stage of its return journey, reaching for the stars and higher. We can't wait to meet Eugene and his friends again. Consider us converted.
Rob & Ian
The original cast recording is available from all major online music sources
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