Review: THE TOXIC AVENGER, Southwark Playhouse, April 26 2016

The citizens of suffering, stinking Tromaville need someone to stop toxic waste being dumped in their town - enter Melvin Ferd the Third, an aspiring earth scientist. A mayor on the make sets her goons on him, and after a semantic mix-up they end up chucking him into a vat of toxic waste and transformed into The Toxic Avenger, New Jersey's first superhero...

It's a rock'n'rolling good time, slightly tweaked from its off-Broadway origins, and the cast are clearly having a ball in this European premiere - so much so that occasionally they could afford to be reined in a little. Lizzii Hills manages her quick-changes as the Mayor and Ma Ferd with aplomb and sings well (despite being at least two decades too young for the roles); Mark Anderson is our mutant hero, almost managing to retain an air of dignity with his left eyeball hanging out as he avoids his kryptonite - ordinary household bleach; Hannah Grover is a delight to look at and listen to as Sarah the blind librarian, but is the biggest culprit of hamming it up just a little too much (including one excruciating incident of breaking the fourth wall) - just as with The Rocky Horror Show, it makes more sense for our romantic leads to be playing it as straight as they can while the chaos and the cartoonish whirl around them.

Speaking of chaos and cartoonish, Marc Pickering and Ashley Samuels are magnificent as the Dudes, playing a dozen different characters between them, and throwing themselves into each of them with gusto. Pickering's turn as a Springsteen-esque singer relating The Legend Of The Toxic Avenger is great fun; and Samuels is particularly impressive whenever he dons a pair of heels.

If schlock and rock appeal to you, this is a must-see. Avoid the front row if you fear audience participation (or having your face touched by strangers), and prepare for a brand new day in New Jersey.