Search - Peter Rafelson :: Voyeurz (1996 Original London Cast)

Oddity of the musical stage.

Jumpseater | NL | 03/26/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Living in London, UK, in the mid nineties and interested in musical theatre, Voyeurz really got my attention after having read several newspaper reviews: all of them slaughtered the production! Voyeurz' background being a Soho strip/sex show brought to a West End stage, with a proper setting, live music, a story and nude performers, combined with the bad reviews, made me want to see it. Always check something out yourself before judging, right? The production didn't run that long: by it's nature it was controversial and it failed to pull the big crowds. The producers had hoped for a cult following, like The Rocky Horror Show, but that never materialised. So one saturday evening I saw the show in an almost empty theatre with just a handful of fellow patrons, all with valid reasons for seeing the show no doubt, but the feeling crept upon me the main one being seeing nudity... Anyway...



I saw the show and I didn't find it that bad. It was well lit, well performed: singing/dancing/music, ok staging, ok set, ok costumes (loads of lingerie). And the musical backbone of the show, the lesbian rock formation Fem2Fem made their marks respectfully, supported by a couple of leading singers (also female) and an ensemble of singers/dancers (only two of them male). The plot (of course?) was another matter: it was like watching an adult X-rated movie: small town girl goes to the big city, becomes trapped in the seedy lesbian nightlife and finds love in the end. Yes, well... Lyrics like "Sex on a train / What is your name / Jane..." are even quite poetic, compared to some of the others, not really the stuff Shakespeare would have been proud of. Mind you, the big musical numbers were good enough: well sung, well danced, energetic rhythms, ok music, but a bit camp. The intermezzos were another matter: the music, but especially the lyrics, were atrocious. Nevertheless, I had a good night out.



Then, a decade and a half later, I came across the CD and out of curiosity I bought it. I experienced the same sentiments listening to the CD as when seeing the show: the intermezzos are terrible, but the numbers are really quite ok. Mind you, most of the music is a bit dated, nineties house/lounge rhythms, but overlooking this it stands well. The lyrics remain (somewhat) camp and are at times explicit. The female leading singers sing well, as do the background vocalists. Fem2Fem again make their marks. The CD has a good sound, clear high tones and powerful basses. There's a good balance between voices and instuments. This is reportedly a live recording, but there's no background sounds (heavy breathing, footsteps on stage, reactions of the public, etc) to be heard: it sounds like a studio album. All music of the show appears to be here, be it slightly cut.



I rated this album three stars for it's technical state, it's performers and it's musical numbers. This CD is a bit of an oddity. Buy it if you're interested in Fem2Fem, camp musicals or artists like The Army of Lovers, otherwise leave it. On a final note, however: the show (and the CD) deserve more than they got."