Little Lark of London

“Get ready to have some fun, ‘cause you might be number one”

“Grease meets Squid Game?” It sounds like an unlikely concept for a musical, but that’s exactly how Brandon Lambert and Martin Landry’s Fun At The Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!! describes itself. Directed by Mark Bell of The Play That Goes Wrong fame, the show pits a group of teenagers into a competition to become King or Queen of the Beach, taking on a range of challenges that are deadlier than the contestants may have originally believed them to be. 

The show’s main characters are split up into two groups – boys and girls – as one might expect from your classic 1950s movie. The girls are Mary Joe (Ellie Clayton), a softspoken girl made to be the “nerd” with glasses and a clueless attitude towards boys, Chickie (Katie Oxman), the matriarch of the trio who tends to make bird noises, and Chastity (Janice Landry), the one everyone thinks will be Queen of the Beach because of her purity and kindness. Each of the girls has a boy to match their personality. Mary Joe is paired off with Joe (Tom Babbage), another spectacled “nerd” who tends to stutter. Chickie finds a match with Dickie (Damien James) who shares her bird-themed movements and quips. Finally, Chasisty finds herself falling for Dude (Jack Whittle), the Danny Zuko of the group who constantly insists that he is a “bum” unworthy of being King of the Beach. 

The ensemble is made up of two performers, Bradley Adams and Dixie Newman, who join in during the dance numbers (choreographed by Francesca James) and always leave exchanging the words, “Oh wowee!” “Neato!” “I had fun!” “Me too!” Even after the darkest moments in the show as the other characters stand still in shock. Each of the performers is giving 110% and they all have a moment to shine – Clayton shows off her range in “It’s My Birthday,” Oxman steals the show with “It’s In His Peck,” Landry gets some more emotional moments at the end, Babbage manages to make repetitive jokes funny every time, James gets quite possibly the funniest line in the show and delivers it perfectly, and Whittle gets the most dramatic moment in the competition, finally letting Dude break free of his constant fear of being a bum and taking a stand. The American accents are overexaggerated and cheesy, matching the vibes of the show. 

If you’re looking for silliness, you’ve come to the right place. Landry’s book is full of ridiculous plotlines including one of the boys having an affair with a mermaid, doing the limbo under a vengeful ghost’s scythe and a moment that had me in tears involving a fish with a halo and angel wings. Landry also takes on the role of the Announcer, who only appears on stage through two loudspeakers that twist and turn as he speaks. The Announcer is like a sassy Hal 9000, declaring the deaths of contestants with glee and calling out the stereotypical behaviour of the characters (he has a particular dislike for Chastity, openly mocking her several times).

Set Designer Emily Bestow (who also designed the costumes) has created a postcard-like word for the show, keeping the performers in a container-like setting on the beach. Even with its simplicity, it has some fantastic details, including the water’s edge on the beach that leads into the audience and some adorable little starfish and seashells. The highlight of the show is its songs, the majority being parodies of hit songs that will have the audience laughing in recognition by the opening lines. The show says that “even the stupidest musical can survive if it has one good song,” but luckily, there are plenty of good songs through Fun at the Beach. Brandon Lambert is an expert at taking iconic songs and twisting them to fit the plot of the show while still remaining funny. I particularly enjoyed the titular songs, “Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-a-Lomp!!” (parodying Barry Mann’s “Who Put The Bomp”), “Mature Women Don’t Whine” (a parody of “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by the Four Seasons) and a dramatic rendition of “Barbara Ann” (The Beach Boys). There are also funny references to songs, including a great bit during “Sand Dune” when the cast imitates a fade out, slowly getting softer and softer while still singing, unsure of exactly when to stop. It is somehow both an attack on and a loving tribute to jukebox musicals. 

The show has a surprisingly heartfelt (though still funny) ending, in which the winner of the Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp must make a choice that will affect not only their own life but the future of their very world. This leads to the only original song in the show, ironically titled, “There’s No Song,” before the classic jukebox musical finale in which the cast comes together one last time to perform “Rockin’ Robin/Finale,” poking fun at the bird puns made throughout the show. 

Ultimately, Fun At The Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!! is a stupidly funny musical that will have laughing and dancing in your seat. The book is fun, the music is fantastic and the cast put all of their energy into every moment, making for eighty minutes of nonstop comedy and song. 

Fun At The Beach Romp-Bomp-A-Lomp!! runs from 24 May to 22 June at Southwark Playhouse Borough. For more information and to buy tickets click here.

Photo Credit: Danny Kaan