Review: IDIOTS ASSEMBLE: THE SPITTING IMAGE MUSICAL, Phoenix Theatre

Starting life in 1984 and garnering a successful reboot in 2020, Spitting Image remains a British comedy staple. Taking jabs at every public figure possible regardless if they’re a politician, celebrity, royal family member or musician, the cult classic show has made its way to the West End following a run at Birmingham Rep.

In Buckingham Palace, the fabric of society (a pair of white underpants) is starting to wear thin. Prince Charles, under the advice of Paddington Bear, enlists Tom Cruise (who else?) to round up a bunch of celebrities including RuPaul, Idris Elba and Angela Raynor to rally the British people before his coronation. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson and his Magnificent Seven gang are plotting to steal the crown.

As soon as Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image begins, the audience is warned to not watch the show if they are easily offended. Whether you’re right or left-wing leaning, writers Al Murray, Sean Foley and Matt Forde certainly stay true to that word as it holds no punches on who the show targets. While offering a visually dazzling feast, it only makes it more of a shame that the satire is the weakest aspect.

The thin-as-tissue-paper plot makes way for a series of jokes and sketches that offer clichéd and surface level jabs at the celebrities and politicians targeted. While a few elicit belly aching laughter, most give you light chuckles and in one fitting case at press night, a chorus of boos. With standouts including "Thriller" led by a maniacal Ring-esque Suella Braverman, a self-pitying "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Prince Charles and a surprisingly sad duet of "No Regrets" by Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson, other scenes squander moments to provide deeper commentary for the sake of a dick joke or the very bad c-word. Fitting for a Spitting Image show? Yes.

The true stars of the show are the puppeteers. Carrying around Roger Law’s caricatured designs, they control each puppet around the stage with such smoothness and physical comedy required in Lizzi Gee’s meticulous choreography that you soon forget the grey-clad people behind them.

While garnering standout moments including a Putin remix of "Puttin’ On the Ritz", these come with the caveat of using pre-recorded voiceovers. While artists including writer/director Al Murray, Debra Stephenson, Kathryn Drysdale and Jon Sessions bring plenty of humour impersonating the likes of Adele, Donald Trump and Greta Thunberg, this leaves no room for improvisation, something a Spitting Image musical should be tailor made for as the script clearly is updated to remain topical.

With nothing and nobody being safe from mockery in today’s age of social media, it makes me question what else Idiots Assemble: The Spitting Image Musical could offer that hasn’t been said already. There is certainly much to enjoy in the dazzling visuals, uber-talented puppeteers and a few standout numbers, but it depends if you can tolerate a five-minute sketch being stretched out to two hours. Either way you think, politically or ideologically, there’s certainly much to laugh at in this musical.

Idiots Assemble: The Spitting Image Musical runs at The Phoenix Theatre until August 26

Photo Credit: Mark Senior

 

 

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