Review: Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park ★★★★★

The cast whizz past you onn roller skates at dizzying speeds on pistes that cut through sections of the audience, bathed in coloured, busy shafts of light, egged on by loud music and costumed like beings from outer space science fiction – yes, Starlight Express is back, spruced up, reinvigorated and dragged into the 21st century ready to conquer a new generation.

The very adaptable space of the vast Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre is the setting for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s immersive iteration of his 1984 work. The barebones remain: this is still a thinnish story of a child’s trains coming alive in his dream to race for the title of best train, with a sweet love story thrown in for good measure; but Lloyd Webber has added new numbers, the special effects benefit from the technological developments of the past four decades, the costumes and acting reflect the zeitgeist’s demand for a big dollop of camp - in short, everything is bigger, brasher, occasionally OTT – and a few digs at the state of British trains go down very well with audiences with their fair share of long-suffering commuters.

Our hero is Rusty, the steam train, a gentle, assured debut by Jeevan Braich; his enemy, who becomes an ally is Hydra, aka the hydrogen train, a loud, assertive performance by Jaydon Vijn, whose boastful theme song is, ‘it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when for Hydra.’

Jeevan Braich (Rusty) and Jaydon Vijn (Hydra) in Starlight Express. Photo: Pamela Raith

Rusty’s love interest is train carriage Pearl, Kayna Montecillo, delightful in her professional debut; the main villain is Greaseball, a boisterous Al Knott, and Rusty’s main champion is Momma, Jade Marvin in impressive voice particularly in her roof-raising blues number.

Jade Marvin (Momma) and the cast in Starlight Express. Photo: Pamela Raith

Assorted other characters include a dining car, a silent carriage, oil, coal , diesel and electric trains, race officials on breathtaking somersaulting scooters, and running the whole show Control, performed with great aplomb by child actor Cristian Buttoci in the performance I saw.

The show is directed by Luke Sheppard, whose prolific West End and Broadway credits include & Juliet, with creative dramaturgy by Arlene Phillips, who was involved in the original production. Costumes are by Gabriela Spade (Six) and the impressive, wrap around set is by Tim Hatley (Life of PI, Back to the Future). Crucial to the show’s dazzling visuals are Howard Hudson’s lighting, with its colourful laser beams, and Andrzej Goulding's videos and animations.

And to the last person, the enthusiastic cast are impressive, blending professional level roller-skating with singing and acting.

Lloyd Webber’s score, conducted with great vim by Laura Bangay, sounded a little over-amplified; with its daring mixture of genres from standard musical theatre through a skilful blues pastiche and a touch of country to plain rock’n roll, with the wistful titular theme song, it keeps things moving, but is hardly among Lloyd Webber’s best or most memorable.

The refashioned Starlight Express is a stunning visual spectacle and will be enjoyed as such. It’s just not a very good musical.