Bat Out of Hell: The Musical – Peacock Theatre, Holborn

Book, Music and Lyrics: Jim Steinman
Director: Jay Scheib

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Excellent Vocals, Strange Staging”

4 / 5

~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~

Bat Out of Hell: The Musical has seen success in the UK and internationally, featuring the music of Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman in this jukebox rock musical.

The plot is, at times, a little confusing, but to be honest, as in most jukebox musicals, mostly redundant – a loose narrative to allow for the inclusion of 21 Meat Loaf songs to be easily inserted into each scene., Falco (Rob Fowler) is the dictator of dystopian, post-apocalyptic city of Obsidian. Wealthy and powerful, he doesn’t care for the citizens of his city, especially not “the Lost” – a group of teenagers that never age, who live in the disused subway tunnels. So, when his daughter Raven (Katie Tonkinson) falls for leader of the Lost, Strat (Glenn Adamson). Falco does everything in his power to stop their relationship and maintain control of his family.

From a music perspective, the show is fantastic, and each of the cast members has an incredible voice that belts out each song with impressive vocals. Georgia Bradshaw (Zahara) and Sharon Sexton (Sloane) are both especially talented and completely captivate during their performances. Sexton and Fowler’s Paradise On The Dashboard Light is humorously bizarre, but a fun rendition nonetheless. Adamson’s Bat Out Of Hell and Tonkinson’s I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) are also some of the rousing renditions that are brilliantly performed by each singer and the wider ensemble cast.

The most frustrating thing about the production is the use of hand-held microphones, an odd staging choice that hinders the choreography, cheapens the production and makes every character interaction appear artificial and clunky. Although they could be implemented during musical numbers to contribute to the rock concert aesthetic if they had to, outside of this, it doesn’t work, and looks more like a technical issue or a practice performance than a polished decision.

The live camera operator is also a strange choice. With such a small stage area, it doesn’t feel needed, and although the large projected screens do give an 80s music video feel, it could easily be utilised with pre-recorded videos, rather than live filming. The operator often blocks the characters during filming, forcing the audience to watch the screen instead, which can be quite infuriating when so much work has gone into the stage aspects of the show.

Aside from those choices, visually it is an enjoyable production – the cast are collaborative, busy and energetic, constantly buzzing all over the stage and making use of the space well. At times, the acting is intentionally over the top, leaning into the cheesy dialogue and ramping up the cringe by being overly theatrical, but it weirdly works, allowing it to become a loving pastiche of the genre. Jon Bausor’s set and costumes are excellently incorporated, with a stunning Act One finale that completely engages.

A conflicting experience, with some grating choices that almost derail the production, but overall, it’s mostly an enjoyable one – the music and cast make up for the strange decisions, and as Meat Loaf himself says; Two out of Three Ain’t Bad.

Runs until 7 June 2025