RIDE THE CYCLONE - Southwark Playhouse Elephant (19/11/25)

Bold, barmy and marvellously macabre, the Cyclone is a wild ride you can't miss!

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A rollercoaster is different things to different people, to some it's a fun, adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride, for others a terrifying, scream-inducing death trap, though for the six ill-fated members of the St. Cassian High School Chamber Choir, one would not be remiss in stating that both are easily applicable; that's the situation in which we find ourselves, every single character in a musical is dead before we've even got going, with a strange mechanical fortune teller acting as the proprietor of the postmortem proceedings that follow. It really is no spoiler to tell you that they all die in this show!

Even as you enter the auditorium, there's a distinct eeriness in the air, largely stemming from Ryan Dawson-Laight's ingenious, splendidly inventive set design, with rusted girders and pieces of jagged metal, dead lightbulbs, and the broken, cracked letters of the word "Cyclone" adorning the arch of the stage looking like they could drop off at any minute. It's got bags of character, resembling a disturbing abandoned carnival, especially with the damaged rollercoaster track encircling the entirety of the stage; much intrigue has been built, and our collective interests piqued for the ride on which we're about to be taken.

The full cast of "Ride The Cyclone" (credit: Danny Kaan)

The premise is simple, the six teens have perished in the rollercoaster crash, and find themselves in a twisted limbo facilitated by Karnak, whom foretells of the disaster in the opening sequence. Portrayed by Edward Wu, who is so unfeeling in his delivery it's frightening, he sits atop the stage, ever present, intimidating, looming over proceedings, as he sets the terms of how one of them can earn a chance to return to life. Cue a series of musical numbers expressing each character's respective hopes, fears, regrets and desires, as a sort of "audition" to Karnak in the hope they can be the one to escape this nightmarish halfway house...though as I said, he sets the terms...

In spite of some quite astonishing creative embellishments, including Nina Dunn's stunning video design, which goes hand in hand splendidly with Dawson-Laight's sets, director Lizzi Gee never draws focus from the characters or their individual plights. Each afforded a song or two, our six deceased youngsters vary wildly in personalities and backgrounds, though never feel like they descend into the realms of cheap stereotypes or overused tropes. We have Ocean the excessively peppy egotist, Mischa the rage-filled yet passionate Ukrainian, Noel who is an out and proud homosexual with dreams of being a French hooker, the excitable and imaginative former mute Ricky, Constance our self-confessed "nicest girl in town" with a secret, and the mysterious, harrowing unidentified figure of the decapitated "Jane Doe".

It is the latter figure in particular whom proves to be pivotal to our story, and whose comparatively haunting appearance is a perpetual source of unease from the moment she enters the stage (in possession of a headless baby doll no less), for which a huge amount of credit has to go to Billie Sanger and Dominic Skinner respectively for their delightfully original and characterful wigs and makeup. The corresponding "Ballad of Jane Doe" is by far the most memorable number in the show, combining Grace Galloway's exquisite soprano voice (in addition to the simply superb ensemble vocals from the remaining cast), Richard Pinner's jaw-dropping illusion work, and exceptional full use of the stage by Gee, leaning magnificently into the horrific nature of the character's demise.

Grace Galloway as Jane Doe in "Ride The Cyclone" (Danny Kaan)

There is, however, far more to this one act rollercoaster ride than meets the eye, as bubbling just under the surface of the grisly humour, clashing of personalities, and alien cats riding space hoppers (don't ask), is a refreshingly sincere message about acceptance, kindness, and appreciating the time you are given on this planet, after all, life is a ride you can only take once. This is most evident through Ocean's character arc, as her initial "all about me" mentality gradually melts away, so we get to see the real person underneath the vim and vigour she presents for much of the 90 minute runtime. Baylie Carson absolutely nails every moment of this, in a well layered performance of terrific panache.

Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell’s score contains hit after hit, whilst most musicals contain that one song which hits hard and stands out from the rest, “Ride The Cyclone” has an entire score full of them, as we are treated to an embarrassment of riches to choose from. In both theory and practice, this musical is thoroughly unhinged, figuratively and literally, and though a disaster musical isn't exactly a subgenre for which many of us were necessarily screaming for, it has emphatically made its mark on the world of theatre, and I'm just left thinking where has this been all my life?

★★★★★ (5*)

"Ride The Cyclone" runs at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until the 10th of January (book tickets)

{PR/Gifted ticket}