With a deliciously-gloomy Steampunk-meets-Art-Deco aesthetic, powerful songs laced with soul-stirring harmonies, transfixing choreography that’s also a touch playful, a robot woman puppet, and a story of forbidden love involving a working-class prophet – what’s not to love about Metropolis?
Set in a futuristic urban dystopia where a privileged class reigns from colossal skyscrapers while exploited workers toil underground to operate great machines, this is one of the most influential science fiction tales of all time.
...the collective strength of the entire cast hurls Robertson’s material into transcendental musical theatre bliss
Thea von Harbou's 1925 novel gave birth to the German expressionist feature-length silent film in 1927 by Fritz Lang. Regarded as pioneering the representation of science fiction on film (and it’s still pretty watchable, to boot) the film also gave us perhaps the first-ever ‘evil robot’ on screen. And now, this tale – with its unnervingly relevant themes of political unrest, the class divide, and fears around artificial intelligence and the automation of the workforce – serves as the inspiration for a daring new musical.
Not to be confused with the adaptation staged at the Piccadilly Theatre in London in 1989, this production presented by Little Eggs Collective in association with Hayes Theatre Co is a musical so slick and impactful that I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t realise that this is the premiere of a brand new Australian-made show.
In the opening sequence we are introduced to the downtrodden workers that fuel the city of Metropolis, dressed uniformly in navy blue shirts and trousers (costume design by Ella Butler) and dancing in mechanical synchronicity like forebodingly muted Oompa-Loompas. From there, rising star Julia Robertson’s book, lyrics and direction (yep, a triple threat of epic proportions) pulls us deep into the working underbelly of this dystopian city and thrusts us high into the Weimar-esque hedonism of the surface-dwelling class.
Like a series of interlinking cogs and bolts, it is the collective strength of the entire cast that hurls Robertson’s material into transcendental musical theatre bliss – those rare moments where the magic strikes just right and nothing exists outside of that one song.
Shannen Alyce Quan gives a dynamic performance as Maria, a saintly figure amongst the workers who prophesies the arrival of a mediator who can bring the working and ruling classes together, and is pursued by Freder (Tom Dawson), the rebelling son of the city's master, Joh Fredersen (Joshua Robson). It is unclear whether there is a truth to her promises, but there is an unwavering honesty to Quan’s performance. Maria’s likeness is stolen and applied to a robot woman that Joh Frederson intends to use to discredit her – and Quan seamlessly transforms into the mechanical trouble maker.
Honourable mentions must also go to the performances of Thomas Campbell as the devious inventor Rotwang; Jim Williams as Grot, the weary foreman of the Heart Machine; Joshua Robson and the powerful tenor he brings to the role of Joh Frederson – and also to the sole non-human member of the cast: Futura the robot.
Created by set and puppet designer Nick Fry, Futura is manipulated by three ensemble-members-cum-puppeteers. With just the slightest hint of sex-bot servitude, this statuesque bronze avatar whose hollow abdomen exposes a network of cogs and gears serves as a fitting conduit for techno-sexism and society’s presently renewed fears around AI.
For all that is thrilling about this new production, it also has its limitations (and I’m not talking about the humble size of the Hayes’ 110-seat theatre). With a meagre runtime of 140 minutes including the interval, the storytelling is rather rushed. There is considerable assumed knowledge required to make sense of everything, some story developments lack clarity, and some of Metropolis’s mysteries remain a mystery. However, with some adjustments, we could have a true-blue masterpiece on our hands.
While the source material is just shy of a century old, this show is a testament to the enduring relevance of its themes, and the timelessness of great storytelling. With parallels that can be drawn to Parasite and The Hunger Games, this is a story that would be at home in the Black Mirror anthology.
A word to musical theatre fanatics: while we wait in hope for Broadway darling Hadestown to hopefully maybe reach Australia one day, Metropolis may help to fill the void with its grungy Steampunk aesthetic and threads of forbidden love and a downtrodden, literally-underground working class.
Metropolis fills the Hayes Theatre with a flurry of theatrical smoke and impressive gusto, and fills this critic with hope. Truly, don’t miss it.
Metropolis is playing now at Hayes Theatre Co, Potts Point. Find out more and snap up tickets over here.
