A Night with Janis Joplin, Peacock Theatre Review

Written by Annie for Theatre and Tonic.

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own.

---

After a tremendous run on Broadway, A Night With Janis Joplin has officially arrived to hopefully whisk the West End up in its storm of success. Opening at the Peacock Theatre last night, we were kindly invited along to see the show for its overseas debut.

Janis Joplin, an icon of her era, redefined rock with her lifelong love affair for the blues and soul. The show is less of a musical and more of a tribute concert to Janis, and the music that not only defined her career but also the icons that influenced her along the way. 

It is a well produced tribute concert, interspersed with Janis’ idols, such as Aretha Franklin, Bessie Smith and Etta James played by West End Legends - the call and response feel of Janis’ narration and these impersonations lends well to the concert feel of the show. 

Mary Briget Davies is an absolute powerhouse of a performer - perfectly encapsulating Joplin’s iconic voice and stage presence. Watching Davies perform across the show is something of an out of body experience, and the crowd revelled in her talent. 

Sadly the lack of storyline meant that the show fell a little flat. There is no exploration of the tragic side of Joplin’s life or untimely death but instead lends itself as a celebratory tribute to her musical successes. 

With very little story to keep it moving, the show exclusively relies on the musical talents of the cast and the onstage band. Like in many concerts, Davies brings the guitarists forward for solos, and shines a light on the rest of the band throughout, bringing attention that at the crux of it all, without music there’d be nothing. 

As the show is sold as a musical, it was quite confusing to start off with, and a little uncomfortable to settle into. Davies, by the end of Act One does a brilliant job of rallying the audience up to cheer and approach the show as a concert - however, I worry that as being sold as a musical, this will prove a challenge for many audiences who potentially don’t get what they signed up for. Again, many of the references are perhaps a little too niche for a wider audience to fully understand, there were a couple of moments where the audience were encouraged to cheer when it was evident the reaction had not landed as expected. 

Despite this, the show is immense fun, and if you take it for what it is - you will leave having a thoroughly fun evening. I don’t think the show really knows what it is, whether it’s a musical, a tribute concert, a rock biopic, a homage to the evolution of music - but somehow it sort of works and ensures the audience leaves on a high one can only get from leaving a live music event. 

At Peacock Theatre until 28 September 2024.

★ ★ ★