Review: Lovestuck: A New Comedy Musical (Stratford East)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Most of us have had our fair share of dating disasters, but I’d bet even your most extreme example doesn’t hold a candle to the story that forms Lovestuck: A New Comedy Musical. The question is, would I be able to fall in love with this new musical, enjoying its world premiere at Stratford East, or would this production equally prove to be a disaster?

Inspired by a surprising true story, Lovestuck sees unlucky-in-love Peter and Lucy follow some bad advice to find themselves on a date with each other. Despite the obstacles in their way, the date goes well and the pair end up back at Peter’s place. One thing leads to another, and Lucy finds herself stuck upside down in Peter’s bathroom window after an unfortunate incident in the toilet. Well, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? In what is described as the worst first date ever, would they be able to make it to a second date?

Written and directed by the co-creators of My Dad Wrote A Porno, Lovestuck is every bit as funny and silly as you’d expect. James Cooper’s writing is frequently hilarious, playing up to the absurdity of the situation and bringing no shortage of laughs both in the writing and physicality of the performance. Lovestuck does run the risk of losing itself tonally along the way as the underlying message of being yourself brings more of a seriousness and heart to the affair. It isn’t always as clear as it should be, and could use some refining to ensure the high quality that is seen frequently throughout is always matched, as it becomes quite noticeable when that quality occasionally dips.

I mentioned the physicality, and this is brilliantly achieved through Jamie Morton’s direction. If you ever wondered how a main character would perform a massive song while stuck upside down in a window, Lovestuck has the answer for you and delivers it with an inspired touch. Many of the choices here pay off, though again there is a slight issue with inconsistency, leading to a show that isn’t as evenly paced as you would hope. The fact that these issues don’t rear their head as obviously as you would expect is a testament to the skill and strength of both Cooper’s writing and Morton’s direction. With a clever set design from Tom Rogers and some great use of choreography from Chi-San Howard, Lovestuck is always a joy to watch.

How much (or little) you love Lovestuck will be very much dependent on how you like toilet humour. With much of the action centred around that one very unfortunate incident in the toilet, it features heavily throughout. For the most part, Lovestuck gets the balance right and doesn’t overdo it with its graphic depictions of… shall we say what has been fished out of the toilet. There are a couple of moments where it does come across a bit too crass, however, though again how you find these moments will very much depend on your sense of humour and how many poo jokes you are able to stomach in two hours.

The music proves to be one of the biggest strengths in Lovestuck, with the original music and lyrics by Bryn Christopher (with music by Martin Batchelar and lyrics by James Cooper) thrilling in their execution and many sounding like instant classics. Showing its strengths early on with the catchy title number, the musical numbers seem to get better as the show progresses, with a frankly absurd Act Two number ‘Cat Lady’, paving the way for some big ballads. I thought Peter’s big Act Two solo, ‘One In A Million’ would be the standout number in the show, but this was immediately eclipsed by Lucy’s huge showstopper, ‘All Along’ - an eleven o'clock number that is up there with the very best and really blew me away.

Shane O’Riordan delights as one of the two leads in Lovestuck as Peter in a charming and lovable performance that sees him commanding the stage whenever he graces it. Bridgette Amofah is a scene-stealing standout in dual roles, but it is her time as Miseraie that ensures all eyes are on her in a comedic and captivating performance. Marcus Ayton is another highlight in a big (though underused) performance as Reece, while Alison Steadman fans will love hearing her voice as the narrator throughout, even if the fairytale-esque narration may not be wholly necessary.

The second lead role of Lucy in Lovestuck was meant to be played by Jessica Boshier until she sustained an accident (though press night did see her appear in the curtain call in a beautiful touch). In another example of the power of covers and how they are so vital in the industry, Ambra Caserotti stepped up to the role in a blisteringly good performance that stole the show. With incredible vocals and an uncanny knack for comic timing, her performance as Lucy was a thing of beauty and sets her up as a star to watch in the industry.

For a world premiere outing, Lovestuck is in pretty good shape. It’s not perfect, but it has enough strengths to counter the rare missteps the musical makes. Though the nature of the story may not be to everyone’s taste, the result is a hilarious watch, boosted by fantastic musical numbers, all performed by an amazing cast. It’s fair to say that this toilet-heavy musical is certainly far from sh*t and, as such, gets a star rating much more than a number two.

Lovestuck: A New Comedy Musical plays at Stratford East until 12th July. Tickets from https://stratfordeast.com/whats-on/all-shows/lovestuck/1725 

Photos by Mark Senior