I was lucky enough to catch Buffy Revamped when the show toured to the Birmingham REP a few months ago, and upon seeing that it was returning to its roots at the Edinburgh Fringe, I knew I had to go again.
Fang-tastic
If you are even remotely a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this is not to be missed. Creator and performer, Brendan Murphy, goes above and beyond in this one-man show, playing Spike (unarguably the best character in the series) who has manifested twenty years after the collapse of Sunnydale to recount the events of all 144 episodes in 70 minutes.
Spike leaves no stone unturned, offering his own hilarious take on the other characters and groaning upon remembering their misadventures. Murphy captures perfectly the spirit of everyone’s favourite surly vampire, and somehow manages to do both a good impression and Spike’s impression of the likes of Giles, Xander, Anya, Dru and all the rest.
Highlights for me include reducing heartthrob Angel to a simple trench coat, having vengeance-demon Anyanka explain the complicated relationships within the show, and Mayor Wilkins advising us all to ‘wear sunscreen’ – I mean – ‘wear a crucifix’.
Spike’s onstage shenanigans are well broken-up by some funny business on the projector screen behind him, and by a handful of brilliantly reworked 90s hits. We are also treated to a bit of audience interaction and superb prop-based humour (even when one such gag involving a giant packet of crisps went awry, he styled it out and made it even funnier).
You’d think such a large space would swallow up a one-man show like a Hellmouth, but Murphy fills the cavernous space like a seasoned rockstar, colouring it in with energy and dynamism. Even if you’ve only seen the odd episode here and there, I can highly recommend this production for its densely packed jokes, expertly executed by a true fan of the series.
A fang-tastic send-up of a brilliant TV show.
