Perhaps more so than ‘Cats’, more so than ‘Phantom’, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Starlight Express’ is his most quintessentially ’80s musical, its world of highly competitive trains played by people on rollerskates somewhat unimaginable as a product of any other era. When it closed on the West End in 2002, it seemed questionable whether it was ever likely to come back. But a candle has been kept burning via a purpose-built theatre in the town of Bochum, Germany, which has played host to a production of the musical since 1988, and which Webber has used as a sort of lab to make tweaks to the show over the years (including adding a train called ‘Brexit’ a few years back).
The Bochum edition is probably a reasonable heads-up as to what to expect for this new UK production, which will convert the Troubadour Theatre in Wembley Park into the Starlight Auditorium and what we’re promised will be an ‘immersive’ take on the show directed byLuke Sheppard of ‘& Juliet’ fame. There are reasonable questions about how long a massive musical is going to last in Zone 4, but it’s certainly got off to a roaring start, extending its booking period during the pre-sale.
