Review: NIC SAMPSON: YELLOW POWER RANGER, Soho Theatre

“How do I get back up there?”

From its opening moments, Nic Sampson: Yellow Power Ranger has quite the fun concept - Sampson, who played the Yellow Mystic Ranger, Chip Thorn, in the fourteen season of Power Rangers, is at a fan convention, preparing for the “Cast Reunion Panel” of the Power Rangers Mystic Force team. For context, Sampson played the Yellow Ranger when he was eighteen and the version of himself he portrays on stage has seemingly been chasing that high he felt ever since. We are first introduced to him as he sits behind his table at the convention, filming Cameos for fans - though the messages and recipients of these videos are pretty surprising!

Unfortunately for fans of Power Rangers Mystic Force, the rest of the team are going to be late, but don’t worry - Sampson assures us that they will all definitely be at the convention, as they’ve got a big announcement to make. But, while we’re waiting for the rest of the cast to arrive, Sampson decides to go ahead with the Q&A that had been scheduled for the panel, having an audience member read out the questions. We learn a bit more about what it was like to film the fourteenth season of Power Rangers, which had the team become not only masters of the martial arts but also wizards in an attempt to ride on the coattails of Harry Potter’s popularity. 

Along with learning more about the show itself and seeing some truly incredible clips of Sampson’s acting, we learn more about Sampson himself. There’s a section with a PowerPoint presentation dedicated to his daily routine, which involves the unfortunately-named “Dojo Nick’s Centre for Male Power,” creating a mind palace to remember the names of fans and even his never-ending fight with an owl who has taken over his attic. It’s a slick bit in the show that allows Sampson to show off his comedic skills through not only his presentation but the slides themselves, with gags that the audience picks up on their own. 

But, once it’s become clear that the other Power Rangers might not be appearing, Sampson decides to reveal his grand plan for the future of the franchise. He’s written a movie that will take the world of Power Rangers to the next level, one where swear words are dropped in every other sentence and there’s death and sex. The film, Lightning Strikes Twice, is focused on Sampson’s character of Chip Thorn and his relationship with the Pink Power Ranger, Vida, whose lines are read by a member of the audience. The only problem? Sampson needs £5 million, and he’s got a Kickstarter to promote!

The show will especially ring true for those who have attended conventions, seeing the mix of people who are taking photos and signing autographs. As someone who has volunteered at several fan conventions, Sampson gets the atmosphere exactly right, being overly nice to fans when he’s “on stage” and immediately changing to a different persona. There’s a running bit about Sampson being sponsored by an online game, Royal Mansion, that could have been pulled straight from the script of an influencer’s YouTube page! And there are also plenty of references to fan culture, including some actual fan-made edits of the Power Rangers set to songs by artists like Avril Lavigne. 

One of the highlights of Yellow Power Ranger is when Sampson reads excerpts from the book he’s written, Maverick, which, if it fit into the standard genres of literature, he would classify as “horror.” It’s quite possibly one of the worst books of all time, and yet, I could’ve spent hours listening to Sampson read from it. This part had me genuinely wheezing, particularly at Sampson’s tendency to use the simile of “like a desk” for pretty much everything. Sampson, if you’re reading this, a full audiobook is requested. 

Nic Sampson: Yellow Power Ranger is a hilarious interpretation of how fame can change a person’s life, though not always for the better. Sampson does a fantastic job portraying a version of himself that cannot escape his past with a show that is filled to the brim with quips and callbacks that will have the audience begging for his autograph after the show.