BATMAN: LIVE Review

Given the rather unfortunate precedent set by the Spiderman stage-show, and the perceived limitations of any stage-based production of something requiring special effects, it was always going to be interesting to see how Batman Live would fair when it opened recently in Manchester. Personally I resisted those early reviews, knowing my time would come when the £12m stage show reached Newcastle's Metro Arena as the second stop on its nationwide tour, and when that time came - Wednesday 27th July - I would find out myself whether that huge budget had been wisely invested. In all honesty, it didn't exactly start all that well, with a high-wire exchange between Batman and Catwoman looking and feeling a little awkward as they slow-motion "flew" at one another in harnesses in a manner that entirely unintentionally suggested parody. At the time, had the show continued in that manner I might not have survived the many action sequences - but it was a minor blip in what went on to be an enchanting, exciting experience. Crucially, this is not Nolan's Batman, nor is it the darker, grimmer Bat of more modern comic books. There is a far more gleefully cartoonish presentation of the Batman universe, with elements of Tim Burton's Bat - particularly in the characterisation of the villains - mingling with less prominent pieces of Schumacher's take on the comic book hero, all pushed through the glorious filter of Jim Lee's outstanding artwork and design. There is something of the Batman: The Greatest Hits Collection about the story-line which intelligently refuses to tell much of Batman's by-now convoluted origin story (aside from a short prologue), instead using Robin's origin as the framework to attach some smaller, familiar story arcs like Arkham Asylum to. But really, it isn't the story that the audience has come to see - the story is just a vehicle to allow a seemingly endless troupe of familiar faces and places (and a few vehicles) from the Bat Universe to enter the stage areas - so it's simplicity here that matters. And the decision to focus on the Flying Grayson's story allows for some impressive circus-like staging that lifts the show above being a needless live version of something we've seen before. Instead of that, and thanks to the impressive wire work, aerial thrills and spills and incredible use of the stage area, Batman Live feels like an authentic as an adaptation in its own right, rather than suffering from Disney On Ice syndrome. And while the simple, lighter-toned story-telling is undoubtedly aimed at the child and parent audience, there are enough gasp-worthy moments aimed squarely at the fanboys and girls - like the purposeful pause after Bruce Wayne's announcement that he is Batman, and the grand unveiling of the Batmobile - to justify the presence of so many groups of 20 something men in Batman (and oddly Superman) T-Shirts. And that's just it, because it carries the Batman brand, and it isn't being marketed as a sterilized, overly-child-friendly adaptation of the comics it will always appeal to an element of fans - but based on the quality of what lies beneath the big top of Joker's Circus, there shouldn't ever be a problem with filling the arenas across the tour's 55 dates around the country. While there was undoubtedly the major possibility of everything becoming a little pantomimey - which is ultimately what cost Schumacher's Batman films so much - the live show is actually surprisingly restrained. The spectacle element is still very much a part of events though, with particular praise due to the circus sequence that immediately precede's the grisly end of two thirds of the Flying Graysons, which features a gravity defying trapeze set-piece that had me far more fraught with tension than the safety harness might have suggested. And again crucially, none of the performances tread too close to the pantomimey line - each actor seems to realise that the key to capturing these flamboyant, hyperbolic characters was not to exaggerate what already exists and instead to inject the caricatures with more realistic life, so they become believably animated versions of the comic book characters, and not the overcooked clowns of Schumacher's films in particular. Batman himself - played by Nick Court and Sam Heughan (I confess I don't know which was on-stage in Newcastle) is measured and possesses a poise and grace that is very becoming for the character, while Michael Pickering as Robin (this one I know for sure having spoken to a few members of the 57 strong group of his family who turned up to cheer him on) brings an enthusiasm and athleticism to the stage that is the perfect balance to Batman's restrained strength. The rogue's gallery is similarly impressive in the acting stakes with Mark Frost's Joker and Alex Giannini's Penguin sticking out - but everyone else is pretty close behind, with the impeccable character designs going some way to make up for the largely silent roles of Poison Ivy, The Riddler (who does have some lines, though not as many as I'd have liked) and the Scarecrow. The Scarecrow in particular proves that good choreography and exceptional design can make up for an entirely silent role that left the longest lasting imprint on my fragile psyche (I had an actual nightmare thanks to that gangly stilt-walking gentleman). But key to everything for the cast is that each brings their own take on the character - there are elements of the already famed performances of the characters from past adaptations, but noone is magpieing too much which is a particularly fine decision as it means we aren't explicitly encouraged to compare and contrast, while there is enough familiarity to welcome in fans who admire those performances. Okay, so there are a few minor gripes - a few of the actors suffered wandering accent syndrome, though never distractingly, and at one point the curtains opened on a particularly impressive sequence only to be slightly undone by the plainly visible stage-hand dangling rather unceremoniously from a rope backstage. The only two particularly notable criticisms that can be levelled at the production again aren't exactly fatal, but both could have been avoided fairly easily, and both related to one specific sequence. We watch as a digitally animated Batmobile manouevres through the streets of Gotham on the big screen, heading towards a final tete-a-tete with the Joker at Arkham, and the first thing that occurred to me wasn't to be totally invested in the sequence, but rather to question the glaring plot-hole involved. Immediately prior to the driving scene, we see as the Joker sets out his plan to lure Batman to him at the assylum, and yet the sequence involves the Batmobile negotiating obstacles set by the malevolent clown. If the whole ploy is to get Batman there, in order to ambush him with the captives he has locked away in Arkham, what logic is there in trying to stop him getting there in the fist place? Hardly a catastrophic oversight, but careless enough to stick out like a wayward batarang to the chops. And the second point on the same theme, that CGI race through the streets is woefully inadequate in comparison to the other on-screen animated sequences, and you can't help but wonder how impressive it could have looked had a few extra pounds been spent on maintaining that higher base-level of quality across the board. It would probably have wowed the younger members of the audience, but as one of those batman symbol t-shirt-wearing older members of the audience I was decidedly underwhelmed. But they're not fatal criticisms by any means, and judging by the whooping and cheering that went on throughout the entire show and long after the curtain had fallen they won't cost the tour any fans. Seriously, if you get an opportunity when it rolls up in a town near you, do not hesitate to buy a ticket or two. If you want to really feel part of the action though, shell out the extra few pounds to get a seat in Gotham City, the banks of seats closest to the stage, as there are several chances to get up close and personal with the performers and proximity serves the circus atmosphere perfectly.