Fungus the Bogeyman – Review

Fungus the Bogeyman

Anyone looking for something different to the star-spangled pantomime season, Fungus the Bogeyman is a perfect alternative.

Although the contents of one’s nose may not seem an obvious starting point for a musical, Pilot Theatre Company has somehow managed to channel the downright grotesque into a magical creation.

Following the success of The Twits’ UK tour last year to high critical acclaim, Pilot has adapted Raymond Briggs’ tale for the stage.

It is an impressive – if disgusting – script and the show is packed with fluorescent colours, special effects, music and song, set on an impressive split level stage.

The Bogeymen – human-cum-armadillo-esque creatures with Rugrat-style Mohawks – inhabit the Underworld, where slime, snot and toe jam are the order of the day.

Fungus takes his son, Mould, up through the sewage pipes to the world of the Dry Cleaners, where “horriblation” is left behind and everything is spick-and-span.

The plan is to introduce Mould (played wonderfully grossly by Michael Lambourne) to the work of the Bogeyman – scaring people, farting in the bedroom, waking sleeping babies and making things go bump in the night.

The expedition backfires and the two worlds collide, as Mould meets a young girl called Maxine (pocket rocket Ebony Feare – the star of the show), who is sick of her mum’s sanitary ways.

The performance ends on a high with a thumping disco sequence – Bogey Wonderland – which is slightly easier to stomach than the “pick it lick it roll it flick it” song.

Kids will love the high “eurgh” factor of the show and while it’s not exactly good clean fun, it is certainly very enjoyable. 

 

THE STAGE – Reviewed at Artsdepot, London.