Exuberant might seem an odd word to describe a show set in a post 9/11 world and based on the disillusioned, punk rock sound of Green Day’s American Idiot, but exuberant it was.The sheer energy of Racky Plews’ musical production hits you from the moment the curtain is raised and the cast burst into the title song, with a relentless pounding energy. There’s little time to catch breath before they launch into the next number and this sets the pace for the rest of the 90 minutes; a whistle-stop tour through Green Day’s award winning album.
Sara Perk’s set design of grimy concrete walls, exposed piping, metal fencing and stained toilet sets the tone for a neglected and squalid America, from small town suburbia to big city. Whilst the 9/11 context is referenced through the flickering television set playing sound bites before the show has even started. Green Day’s pertinent lyrics of ‘one nation controlled by the media, information age of hysteria” were never as perfectly demonstrated as when a news interviewee states that Italy should be the next country that America invades.
All this sets the scene for a particular moment in American history rather than forming the substance of the story itself, which is essentially a coming of age tale of three friends. Johnny (Aaron Sidwell), Tunny (Alexis Gerred) and Will (Steve Rushton), who respectively muddle their way through finding their path in life via drug addiction, joining the army and becoming a father.
Aaron Sidwell’s Johnny narrates the story, although the show’s script is very limited, instead relying on the album tracks to provide narrative. Johnny’s cocky, don’t-give-a-damn-attitude is a mere front for a vulnerable boy, revealed poignantly through some of the less frenetic songs, which bring a welcome balance to the general raucous and angry tone of the show.
Special mention has to go to Lucas Rush, who plays the manipulative drug-dealing St Jimmy, determined to drag Johnny down to the depths of despair under the guise of friendship. Rush plays him as a camp new-romantic, punk hybrid showman, with a distinct air of malevolence that is apparent in every look and move.
American Idiot is a rollercoaster 90 minutes of live music and dance set against a backdrop of fantastically evocative stage and costumes that capture the zeitgeist of the early 2000s. By the time it ends, you will likely have forgotten that it had anything to do with 9/11and it is this minimal reference to politics, a universally relatable storyline and Green Day’s foot stomping music that will undoubtedly make the show a definite crowd pleaser.