There are very few downsides to attending a steampunk musical based on Oscar Wilde’s life, unless you’re a reviewer trying to take discreet notes in the back of the room...
A blend of this year’s Eurovision runner up, Beyonce’s Renaissance choreography, and the Buffy The Vampire Slayer musical episode
The Neon Coven’s original show, OSCAR at The Crown, is dazzling, energetic, and disorientating. With moving stage pieces, face-melting power ballads, and copious amounts of leather, they are taking the Fringe by storm. Sometimes compared to the mind-blowing experience of Six The Musical, which has since transferred to the West End and Broadway, there are some similarities in the production quality and level of talent, but that is where the comparison ends. OSCAR at The Crown is one of a kind. My best attempt to describe it would be a blend of this year’s Eurovision runner up, Beyonce’s Renaissance choreography, and the Buffy The Vampire Slayer musical episode.
On entering the Palais du Variete, the performers are already stationed around the room, mingling with the audience and dancing through the crowd. We’re given three rules to follow: wander wherever we want during the show, take as many photos and videos as we like, and a third rule I missed while posting an Instagram Story. The plot follows a group of outsiders sheltering in an apocalyptic future where, somehow, Julie Cooper from The OC has brought about the end of the world. Their only entertainment is to tell the story of Oscar Wilde through song, dance, and — sometimes — lightsabers.
The entire cast is bursting with talent, taking on sharp choreographed numbers with ease and displaying a seemingly unlimited vocal range during the very catchy original songs. Mark Mauriello brings a manic energy and intense charisma as Oscar, with a singing style that could be compared to The Darkness frontman, Justin Hawkins. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role he originated, seeming uniquely suited to this mixture of flamboyance and vulnerability. There are no weak links in this ensemble, but special mentions go to Elizabeth Chalmers for her emotional closing number and Jamie Cruttenden’s devastatingly sexy moves as Oscar’s lover, Bosie.
If at times the story was hard to follow (why is Julie Cooper to blame for the end of the world?), or the lyrics difficult to distinguish among the cacophony of noise, it did not detract from the overall feeling of jubilance. Get your tickets now before you’re asked to fork over big bucks to see it on a professional stage, where it’s no doubt headed.
