I joined the audience at Hull New Theatre’s latest offering Bat Out Of Hell and as the title suggests; there’s lots of Meatloaf to be heard.
Based very loosely on Peter Pan, we find ourselves among “The Lost” a group of rebellious outsiders to society who forever remain 18 years of age. Pan is now the character Strat and we also have Tink(abell), not a fairy but a young rocker, who idolises Strat (Glenn Adamson). Strat is so charismatic and captivates the group of followers and the audience with his acting and singing.
Adamson has one heck of a powerful voice which at times made the hair on my arms stand on end. He needs a powerful voice though as the soundtrack is loud and brash. Luckily the whole cast were brilliant singers and despite the volume, they recited their numbers beautifully.
Strat is in love with a young girl named Raven (Rebecca Lafferty) who he has seen on the cover of a magazine. He is desperate to meet her and sneaks into her room to watch her sleeping.
They do eventually meet, fall in love and have to endure the wrath of Raven’s parents. They run away but Tink betrays the loving couple and Raven’s father finds them. Strat gets away but there is a motorbike accident and everyone thinks Strat is dead. Of course, our hero is not dead and Raven finds him. I’ll not go more into the story but if it doesn’t tear at your heart strings you indeed are cold hearted.
As expected with this title, there are lots of Meatloaf songs and Bat Out Of Hell being the most famous was brilliantly executed. Dead Ringer for Love, Heaven Can Wait, I’d Do Anything for Love were all recognisable so even if you are not a Meatloaf fan (and there were plenty in the audience) you will know plenty of numbers.
The entire cast were brilliant and talented. I especially loved the dancers and their slick choreography which they performed with perfect timing. Additionally, I could have listened to Joelle Moses all night, the tone of her voice was absolutely stunning.
If you want a great night’s entertainment then get down to Kingston Square to the theatre and grab a seat, and be prepared for flashing lights, LOUD rock music and brilliant singing.
Bat Out Of Hell is running at Hull New Theatre until Saturday 24 September. Tickets start at £20.00 and can be found on the Hull Theatres website or at the box office on 01482 300 306.