Fishnets and feathers... and that’s just the men!

Moulin Rouge! The Musical PiccadillyTheatre, London

Booking to May 28, 2hrs 45mins The Play What I Wrote Theatre Royal, Bath Touring until March 5, 1hr 55mins

No theatrical opening has been so much awaited this year as Moulin Rouge! – scheduled to open last March and postponed twice because of Covid. But this eye-popping extravaganza certainly blows the cobwebs off the re-emerging West End with an insouciant, besequined swagger.

On Broadway it won ten Tony Awards (one fewer than the blockbusting Hamilton), not surprising given the sumptuous costumes – a riot of cinching corsetry, fishnet and feathers, and sometimes that’s just the chaps – and sets, the barnstorming choreography and the sheer high-octane energy of the cast. If we have an energy crisis, just plug this lot into the National Grid.

It’s based on Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film, with Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman as the penniless American songwriter, Christian, who falls for Satine, the performer/ courtesan in the demi-monde of Montmartre and the titular cabaret around the turn of the century. There are elements of La Bohème and Romeo And Juliet, plus the louche, libidinous attitude of Cabaret (there’s even a campy MC, a fruity Clive Carter) with his own ‘wilkommen’.

The USP of Luhrmann’s film was its mash-up of anachronistic pop music to illuminate the story. Here it’s often an ingenious, dizzying daisy-chain of riffs and references, indeed like a film jump-cutting, from Bowie to Marc Bolan and Nat King Cole. Rather like watching that old game show Name That Tune. Some are shoehorned in gratuitously and knowingly (The Sound Of Music?), rather like Mamma Mia! back in 1999, all greeted by the audience with chuckles of recognition. This is a clever exercise in nostalgia, too. Since the film, the numbers have been updated, bringing in the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Adele.

The sheer volume of those snippets could, and sometimes does, make your head spin, but the key points of the story are anchored with full-length songs. Elton John’s Your Song and Adele’s Rolling In The Deep are used to particularly good effect, with the leads Jamie Bogyo and Liisi LaFontaine (above) showing off their vocal prowess both at full throttle and more tender moments.

LaFontaine is all pop diva in a blend of Diamonds Are Forever and Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend, suitably as her role has been beefed up for the stage. Bogyo is stronger later on, excelling in an absinthe-induced Argentine tango number to Sting’s Roxanne (superb choreography by Sonya Tayeh) and the climactic Come What May. I’m not sure I was completely convinced by the chemistry between the lovers, and Alex Timbers’s production might be seen as a glitzy, kitschy triumph of style and maximalist glamour over substance. But what style.

The Morecambe and Wise TV shows – writes Robert Gore-Langton – had a particularly joyous slot: The Play Wot Ernie Wrote, which always featured a guest star – Arthur Lowe, Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson – who would then gamely proceed to enact Ernie’s clunking lines.

That trick is repeated here in this fond and funny homage to the duo. It’s written by Hamish McColl and Sean Foley, and with the late Eddie Braben, the TV series script writer, properly credited.

It was originally staged 20 years ago, with Kenneth Branagh as director. Now Foley is the director and the boys are played by Dennis Herdman (tall, gangly and very Eric-ish) and Thom Tuck (below, with Herdman, pretentious, soulful and Ernie-esque).

Magic moments? Dennis hanging in a dungeon with arms that stretch 12ft. And of course the songs, gags and whip-smart timing. It really is a tonic, this show. It never makes the mistake of rising above its own daft level, offering only sunshine and retro joy.