Forty years on, it is still the case that nobody can do it like a steam train. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express arrives at the station to collect the next generation of wide eyed young theatregoers.
Slickly updated in characters, music, and staging, Starlight Express is ideal family entertainment. The prospect of how exciting this show would look to a young first time musical goer is mind-boggling. Housed in a custom-designed, purpose-built auditorium at Wembley Park, no one is more than a few rows away from live “trains” whizzing by. Add in chest-thumping music and dazzling lights and lasers and the whole experience is probably as much fun as a child of any age could have at the theatre.
Revisiting Starlight Express, it is clear to see how similar in concept and structure the show is to Cats, which premiered just a few short years earlier. Act one is almost all introductory songs as the various trains and carriages each have their moment in the spotlight. Instead of a Jellicle Ball, the show builds to a championship race between the various pairings of engines and carriages.
Updates to the musical include the removal of all trains based on nationalities, avoiding the possibility of caricatures and stereotypes. As in real life, gone is the smoking carriage. The freight trains now carry fuels, with the new inclusion of hydrogen, of which we hear “it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when for hydrogen.”
Whereas the character of Control was once a disembodied voice, a range of child actors now play this character. At this performance, Control was played by Cristian Buttaci, who performed with extraordinary confidence and vocal power.
In a welcome modern update, diesel engine Greaseball is no longer a male character, meaning that their romance with dining car Dinah is a queer one.
The immersive nature of the design begins when entering the foyer, which with its bars, music, and darkness is for all intents and purposes a nightclub. Tim Hatley’s set design features circular paths through the auditorium for train races. a central circular space features a doughnut revolve, a central rising platform, and a rear backdrop that is like a half bowl at a skating ramp. Watch the two Controllers on scooters do flips on that ramp!
The spectacle of the set design is inseparable from the lighting design of Howard Hudson and the video design and animation of Andrzej Goulding. Director Luke Sheppard brings out as much character development and snippets of plot as possible, with a key focus on the central be-true-to-yourself romance of Rusty and Pearl.
Arguably even more eye-popping than the sets and lights, the costumes by Gabriella Slade are truly stunning. Glamorous, characterful, and practical for skating, the costumes are a attraction of the overall production. a clear highlight is electric train Electra and crew, right down to their inflatable lightning bolt wings.
Choreographer Ashley, Nottingham delivers all manner of stunts and speed skating for the full adult cast on roller skates. In a respectful touch, original choreographer Arlene Phillips, is engaged as creative dramaturg.
Helming a tight performance of new orchestrations by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Matthew Brind, musical director Laura Bangay leads a sharp off-stage band of seven musicians.
All aboard for Starlight Express!
Starlight Express was reviewed 1pm Sunday 4 August 2024 at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, London. For tickets, click here.
Photos: Pamela Raith