With a massively deceptive poster, I didn’t know what to expect from Wild West End. But when ‘Sparkleton’ replaced my visions of cowboys and Indians, this camp celebration of some of the best loved musical numbers and characters from West End and Broadway, from The Lion King to Les Misrables, assaults the audience all guns blazing nonetheless. The four strong cast delivered hilarious parodies of classics with enormous gusto, relishing in the vulgar satire and sharing a wicked humour - riffing on everything from the household pun to the erotic gag. This hilarious reconstruction of the once child-friendly genre would have left Judy Garland stranded in Kansas having never made it over the rainbow.
From the company behind the sell-out success ‘Fresher the Musical’, this production was already a promising picture of musical madness and the songs are show-stopping reworks of the world’s favourite tunes, but the plot is a hashed charade. As a parody piece it can be forgiven for this and a weak narrative is usually the point. The young cast are strong comedic performers with firm vocals to support the risqué reworkings of the lyrics. Special mention goes to the hilarious Lloyd Webber impression and witty take on “Who Will Buy” from Oliver! with show merchandise. If you’re a fan of musical theatre this show is particularly entertaining as a playful deconstruction of the best-loved musicals, still brilliant in their new form.
