Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!!, Southwark Playhouse Review
Written by Charlotte for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Grab your sunnies and an ice lolly (and perhaps a first aid kit) for some Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!! Conceived and written by Brandom Lambert and Martin Landry, this raucously self-aware parody of jukebox musicals is an aptly silly summer show. Set against a soundtrack packed with on-the-nose parodies of all your favourite hits of the 50s and 60s, such as ‘Beach Angel’ and ‘Mature Women Don’t Whine’, the show follows a group of colourful stock characters in a deadly competition to earn the title of ‘king or queen of the beach.’
Lambert and Landry’s inspiration came from Lambert’s own run as a performer in an unnamed jukebox musical and their subsequent desire to write something ‘even worse.’ True to that inspiration, Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp has all the marks of a classic jukebox musical – infectiously catchy songs, a recognizable cast of cliché characters, and a plot which lacks even the slightest sense of internal logic. It’s clear that Lambert and Landry have close experience with the medium as the satirical spins and driving self-awareness are as clever as they are ridiculous. ‘Even the stupidest musical can survive if it has one decent song,’ proclaims the god voice, directly before the heroine delivers the most contrived ballad ever performed. Even the ensemble of two who run on to pad out the musical numbers and then quickly disappear with a sing-songy ‘neato! I had fun!’ before any real plot happens are a delightful nod to the massive, undeveloped ensembles of the jukebox template.
Despite the overall success of the parody, the show still suffers from a smattering of underwritten sections and awkward pacing. Coming in at 85 minutes and featuring an ‘everyone dies’ formula, it should be a fast-paced, easily engaging romp; but somehow, it still manages to flag under overplayed bits and lazy attempts to stitch up loose plot holes which, even if intentionally dense, grow tired long before they reach their conclusion. The only saving grace to these ineffectual choices is the incredibly strong cast. There is not a single member of the company that isn’t committing 100% to the folly. Their impressions of recognisable typecasts elicit eye rolls and belly laughs in equal quantities. And while the parody songs are fun on their own, they are made truly enjoyable by genuinely skilled vocal performances across the board.
Emily Bestow’s charming scenic design is likewise a perfect complement to the airy narrative. The flat painted backdrops and plasticky foliage are an appropriate frame for the absurdity of the action, not to mention the sentient robotic speakers. The extension of the satire to the aesthetic level not only heightens the show’s campy charm, but it also aptly plays on the kind of low-hanging comic fruit we are all too familiar with, from rubber fish to dismembered limbs.
Is Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp an intelligent comedy? No. Is it a landmark drama? Absolutely not. Will you have a good laugh? Probably. If anything can be said for this Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp of a show, it’s that this self-proclaimed ‘Grease meets Squid Game’ musical does exactly what it says on the tin. If campy horror, retro tunes, or taking shots at the jukebox genre are your cup of tea, then I suspect you will have some good summer Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!!
At Southwark Playhouse Borough until 22 June 2024.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
