Review: METROPOLIS, Ye Olde Rose And Crown Theatre

First performed in London in 1989 at the Piccadilly Theatre (with stars including the inimitable Brian Blessed), the musical version of Metropolis (by Joe Brooks and Dusty Hughes) has been revived for a short Off West End run at Ye Olde Rose and Crown in Walthamstow.

Based on the 1927 silent film directed by Fritz Lang, it centres around a futuristic city in the 21st century built and run by John Freeman. The Workers and Elitists are separated, the former enslaved to the machines that power the city while the latter stay upstairs in the sun. One day, Freeman's son Steven witnesses Worker Maria teaching some of the children about life above ground - he falls in love immediately and, against his father's express orders, he follows her to the lower levels. There he finds unimaginable drudgery and toil; struck by Maria's leadership, and shocked at the dangerous conditions, Steven decides to stay and help.

When Freeman discovers what his son has been up to, he resolves to remove Maria from the Workers (and Steven) and replace her with a disruptive influence: a robot called Futura, created by scientist Warner, who is made to look exactly like Maria. But will this be the Elitists' undoing?

The show flopped in its West End run; unfortunately it's quite easy to see why. Despite the quality of the production, and the commitment of the cast, it can't hide from this ghost of theatre past: Hughes' book just isn't up to scratch. Whilst it doesn't stray too far from Lang's original story, in musical theatre form it comes across as a kind of futuristic Les Misérables with a bizarre sci-fi twist - actually some of the strains in the music remind me of the Boublil/Schönberg classic, as do a few characters at certain points.

It's a bit of a shame, as the whole idea of the wealthy minority taking advantage of the increasingly poor majority is incredibly relevant to the political climate in which we find ourselves now.

No particular fault can be laid at this creative team's door, however, as they have done their utmost to bring together the best production they possibly can. Justin Williams and Jonny Rust's set design immediately transports you to Metropolis' industrial world, and there is some good video projection work as Freeman gives orders to his minions. It's also an interesting idea to present the children as puppets, and adds an extra dimension to the show. Ian Pyle contributes some eye-catching choreography, notably sections where the workers are at the machines.

Musically, the production shines. The band provides brilliant backing, and there are a lot of great harmony sections that the ensemble tackle with aplomb. Miiya Alexandra and Rob Herron have terrifically strong vocals, making Maria and Steven quite compelling to watch - even as the story gets progressively more bizarre.

Sometimes it's best to leave shows in the past; Metropolis is a good example. The hard work invested in this show is clear, however it doesn't affect the end result. An impressive production let down by mediocre source material.

Metropolis is at Ye Olde Rose and Crown until 5 November

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