Book, Music & Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson

Barbican Theatre, London.

A Broadway theatre usher writes a musical about a Broadway theatre usher writing a musical about a Broadway theatre usher, who is, you guessed it, writing a musical about… etc. etc.

It’s hard to know where to start. Well, I guess that’s the nature of a loop, strange or otherwise. On the one hand A Strange Loop is a big, bold Broadway musical about a black, gay theatre usher, wrestling with body image issues due to his weight, and multiple other insecurities, as his family culture, sexuality and ambitions engage in an internalized psychological cage fight, expressed through the medium of song and dance. On the other, think of it as a sort of staged 18 certificate Pixar movie, colourfully deconstructing the human psyche in crisis with the help of non-stop explicit language gloriously – and sometimes challengingly – turned up to eleven.

But if all of that sounds like heavy going, rest assured that Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer prizewinning theatrical phenomenon is hugely entertaining for all of its dizzying hundred minutes.

For such a philosophically complex idea the staging is remarkably simple. Usher starts his journey in the lobby of a big Broadway theatre hosting a major Disney musical in front of six doors leading to different parts of the auditorium beyond, suggestive of a hall of mirrors, or gateways to a mysterious labyrinth. But soon each door becomes the portal for the six ‘Thoughts’ – fragments of Usher’s identity, the most memorable of which being ‘Daily Self Loathing’ – who act as a Greek chorus, multi-rolling as real-world figures such as his agent or the members of his often homophobic family, as Usher embarks on his quest to write his own musical about his own predicament.

The songs are terrific – not only melodic and lyrically smart but used to sharp dramatic effect, notably when the audience is invited to clap along to a sumptuous soul-gospel chorus extoling that ‘AIDS is God’s punishment to gays’. We are blinded as the lights turn on us, but do we join in or don’t we? I’ve never seen so many people sit on their hands so quickly. It was a truly unforgettable theatrical moment illustrating how skilfully A Strange Loop plays with the expectations of its theatre-savvy audience. There are more hair-raisingly challenging sequences like this – but brilliantly framed within almost breathlessly top-notch entertainment.

If A Strange Loop appears to be a bit self-indulgent at times, disappearing up its own rear end more than once, you have to forgive it, because, after all, that is the point. The British audience (including me) was also struggling with one or two of the less well-known American cultural references, but not so much as to spoil the fun.

Verdict: The show happily describes itself as a ‘Big, Black and Queer-Ass American Musical’ but – and I can’t quite believe I’m saying this – that’s only the tip of the iceberg. A Strange Loop is far, far more than that. Sadly, the London run has ended now, but I can’t believe it won’t be back in some form, and when it does reappear, it’s one not to miss. 9/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com