From the minds that created the Tony Award-winning musical satire Urinetown, a show about a future in which water is so scarce, public urination is strictly forbidden and you need to pay money to use the toilet, the idea of a musical set three and a half billion years ago about yeast comes as no surprise. Yeast Nation: The Triumph of Life is that very musical and it comes to the Southwark Playhouse for its European debut, writes Christopher Peacock.
Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis paired up again to create a musical they describe as part Greek tragedy, part Shakespearean court drama and part bio-historical sci-fi fantasia. The show was first produced in 2007 and the story revolves around a nation of yeasts led by Jan the Elder. The king of the yeasts who wants to conserve the food sources that they have and not stray far from the sea bed. It is only when Jan the Second develops an emotional connection with Jan the Sweet that divisions form when some long for more from their existence and others compete for power.
The staging is minimal, the green and purple tones used to mimic the primordial soup make for a simple set. It is oddly complimented with the cast all in lycra morph suits spotted with scraps of tutu tulle, that certainly make them look like strange things from the deep. What works best comes from the movement direction of Lucie Pankhurst. Pankhurst’s interpretation of the movement of Yeast at the bottom of the ocean sets the tone for the bizarre and as the organisms grow and evolve, their movement does too.
The performers do the best they can without dazzling. Due to the sound mix they all have to belt out and screech their musical numbers, none of which are memorable. The book is far from slick and even owing to the barmy concept of the show, it is a bit of a mess. The tongue-in-cheek humour gets repetitive and old and along with the constant need to press home every pun and joke in the script with asides to the audience, any nuance to the humour is swiftly removed. Director Benji Sperring also chooses to set the whole thing in Yorkshire, reasoning for which is never made clear and some of the cast’s Yorkshire accent work went from very broad to moving all over the place, especially when singing.
Beyond the initial idea of trying to tell the earliest story in time, it’s hard to see what Gotis and Hollmann were wanting to say or achieve here. We are living in a world of changing climate and fewer resources so you can see where this satire found its beginnings, but developing that nascent idea into over two hours of entertainment is something this show doesn’t manage.
Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD until 27th August. Time: 7.30pm, matinees 3pm. Admission: £28.50, £23.
Booking: 0207 407 0234 – https://www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
