BWW Reviews: I NEED A DOCTOR - THE WHOSICAL, Leicester Square Theatre, Oct 28 2014

Tony Cross

Well, that was rather lovely. But then anything that features light mockery of John Barrowman, time-travel arms and a cease and desist letter from Steven Moffat (amongst other things) in just over an hour is always going to be an enjoyable experience.

I Need A Doctor: The Whosical is the work of James Wilson-Taylor and Jessica Spray. Jess gets to run through the gamut of Doctor Who companion clichés in style, including a very impressive scream. James gets to be both the Doctor and The Master as well as pretty much everything else.

A running joke throughout is their attempts to avoid being sued by the BBC for copyright infringement. There's a lot of jokes at the expense of Doctor Who - both Classic and New - but they're all delivered with that good natured mockery that shows a degree of love for the show that shines throughout. Not every joke works but pretty much all of them do. There's one joke that skirts the edge of risqué (but which seemed to amuse both adults and children when I went) but it is pretty family friendly. As it should be perhaps.

Indeed you could argue - if you being tedious - that this isn't really a musical about Doctor Who at all but a show about Jess and James. Or at least a version of Jess and James that makes the show look suitably ramshackle and chaotic when it obviously isn't. They're likeable performers who work well together, which shouldn't be a surprise.

There are songs. Of course. Doctor Whoed-up versions of West End show tunes, including tastes of - and I'm no expert - Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables - and a bit of the Fresh Prince (which I think was my favourite musical bit of the show). Their parodies are all rather cleverly written.

I laughed out loud a lot but won't spoil it by listing out my favourite bits. That should be something for you to do when you see it. If you're a Doctor Who fan - or at least the kind of Doctor Who fan that doesn't take the programme TOO seriously - then I think you'll enjoy yourself. I know I did.

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