Mr Burns

Time to make my own mind up about this marmite show. So where do I stand? Well, in neither camp really. Clever and original, but long drawn out and more than a bit dull.

In a post-apocalyptic America, a handful of survivors sit around a fire clinging to the past, and in particular popular culture, here represented by an episode of The Simpsons. They reminisce and re-live it. In Act II, 7 years on, they’re re-enacting episodes, complete with set, costumes and adverts. Other groups have set up in competition and there’s a trade in script lines. In the third act, 75 years later, they’re performing a full blown pompous gothic pop opera of the episode.

The messages, that we cling to memories, however accurate, and popular culture unites in adversity is fine, but laboured in three 40 minute acts, each of which outstay their welcome. To be honest, I was rather bored by it all. There’s nothing wrong with playwright Anne Washburn’s idea or the execution of it by director Robin Icke and designer Tom Scutt and a good cast, it’s just not substantial enough to be a rewarding evening in the theatre for me.

A lot has been said about the need to understand The Simpsons to appreciate the piece. Though this would clearly help you pick up on detail and get the broader ‘in joke’, I’m not sure its entirely necessary – but then again The Simpsons has by and large passed me by.

Not a rave. Not a whinge. Just a bucket-load of indifference. I can’t even be arsed to write a longer review!