Review: BANANAMAN THE MUSICAL, Southwark Playhouse

I'm afraid this confession rather shows my age, but I very much enjoyed watching Bananaman on TV when I was a kid in the 80s. My seven-year-old self loved the silliness of a puny little boy turning into a dim-witted superhero when he eats a banana. So when I heard Bananaman the Musical was coming to London, I was determined to pay it a visit, for nostalgia if nothing else.

The show certainly has some ap-peel-ing aspects (brace yourselves, folks, for one or two more banana puns).

There's a bunch of the aforementioned silliness in the plot, which sees the villainous Dr. Gloom (a pitch-perfect cartoony Marc Pickering) and General Blight (a suitably doolally Carl Mullaney) both chasing after a shard of comet that apparently has the power to help them take over the world. What banana-drama!

It's down to Eric Wimp (played with wide-eyed innocence by Mark Newnham) and his alter-ego Man-of-Peel Bananaman (played posh but dim by Matthew McKenna resplendent in blue lycra muscle suit) to stop them.

He's aided by his trusty sidekick Crow (the fantastically engaging Jodie Jacobs), somewhat hampered by the bumbling Chief O'Reilly (likeable in spite of his incompetence thanks to TJ Lloyd), and occasionally distracted by love interest wannabe journalist Fiona (injected with a bit of girl power by Emma Ralston).

The cast work really hard and do a great job both vocally and choreographically, and ensure that the humour never drops. A couple of songs have many-layered vocals that compete a bit too much meaning some of the words are lost, which is a shame as some of the lyrics are rather cleverly put together by Leon Parris.

You're unlikely to come out of the theatre humming any of the tunes, but the score is all jolly enough and very well performed by cast and band alike (although from my seat there was some slightly distracting spill from the drums - perhaps worth considering a screen around the drumkit?). Fans of the TV series will notice the rather ripe nods to the theme tune throughout the show.

The set (Mike Leopold) is simple but has some nice split-level action that fits well with bringing a comic strip to life, as well as making good use of the Southwark Playhouse space. There are also some pleasing deliberately lo-fi 'special effects', from flying to ill-placed puffs of smoke, which fit well in the tone of the show.

This is a show that won't make everyone's sides split with laughter, and its potassium power isn't quite as fizzy as I'd hoped, flagging slightly towards the end. But for those of a certain age who remember the comic strips or kids' TV series, Bananaman the Musical provides an entertaining enough distraction for a chilly January evening.

Bananaman the Musical at Southwark Playhouse until 20 January

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

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