REVIEW: Bat Out Of Hell at Newcastle Theatre Royal ★★★

On Monday, I headed back to the the theatre to catch Bat Out Of Hell at the Theatre Royal. I went in totally blind to this musical, not listening to the cast album or knowing much about the show other than it featured the music of Meatloaf and Jim Steinman.

For those who don't know (as I didn't!), Bat Out Of Hell is a rock musical based in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. The story follows Strat, the leader of 'The Lost' who falls in love with Raven, the daughter of Falco, the tyrannical ruler. The show opened in Manchester in 2017, before moving to London in the same year, and has been a hit ever since. 

I have to say, I feel very conflicted about this show. Whilst I absolutely loved the cast, the music, the costumes, and lighting, I didn't like the show itself. The cast were definitely the highlight of the show and I think without their sheer talent, I would have left very disappointed. We had a lot of understudies on and each and every one of them absolutely smashed it! Falco was played by Jamie Jukes and Sloane by Laura Johnson and they were, without a shadow of a doubt, the highlight of the show. Whenever they sang, I was hooked, especially when they join in 'It's All Coming Back To Me Now' - WOW! Joelle Moses played Zahara, originated by the wonderful Danielle Steers, and was also outstanding. She had a beautiful voice, similar to Steers', and I think she was the perfect casting for this role. Whilst Raven, for this show played by Kellie Gnauck, was played very well, I did not click with the character and found her very unlikeable in comparison to Strat (Glenn Adamson). But, as I said before, the cast were note perfect and sang those songs beautifully. 

Again, the costumes were amazing - they fitted the show and looked very eye-catching on stage. Every character had their own distinctive style throughout the show, which I liked also. The lighting was great too, with camera footage being played on a main screen as well as against the tower on multiple occasions. I thought the show was cleverly staged, especially when they utilised all the different surfaces to project the lighting onto in different scenes.

The one let down, and why I feel so confused about what I think about the show, was the story line. I felt like the show was too long to carry the story, even with the very long Meatloaf/Jim Steinman songs filling the time. I feel this is why a lot of people have a bad perception of jukebox musicals, as this can sometimes be the case as Bat Out Of Hell shows. It's disappointing to feel like this considering I have seen some excellent jukebox musicals recently, including The Drifters Girl and Mamma Mia!. In comparison, Bat Out Of Hell falls flat. In saying that, I know that there were a lot of Meatloaf fans in the audience who did not seem to mind this and enjoyed the show because they were hearing his songs.

Overall, I think if you're a fan of Meatloaf/Jim Steinman's songs, you'll absolutely love this show. I will, without a doubt, be listening to the cast album, but am unlikely to see this show again as I just wasn't kept hooked due to the lack of storyline. For musical theatre fans, this might not be the show for you.

Tickets for the rest of the tour: https://www.batoutofhellmusical.com/uk-tour