Theatre Review: Tarantino Live, Riverside Studios
Tara Lee, Karen Mav and Cleo Caetano in Tarantino Live. Image credit: Brianna O’Reilly.
★★★★
Tarantino Live pitches itself as all 9 of Quentin Tarantino’s films mashed up into one story - connecting all the characters and worlds that he’s created, and doing it to some of the most iconic music in cinema history. It’s something that London Theatre hasn’t seen before, a kind of musical Frankenstein that stitches together jukebox musical, cabaret-style immersive performance, and rock concert.
The show has so much going for it, and as far as immersive performance goes, it’s one of the best. Set against the backdrop of a torn cinema screen, and with the director Anderson Davis utilising every bit of space available in the room throughout the show, it does feel like these iconic characters have forced their way through the screen to give their performance live and direct. It is up close and personal, it is fast-paced and it is fun, all the things you want from immersive theatre.
Vocally I’m going to go out on a limb and say this show has the strongest collection of voices in any show in London today. Which is no shade to any other show, and all praise to this cast, there’s not a single voice that doesn’t shine, and there are certainly no weak links. However, there are some standouts - Cleo Caetano’s version of Malagueña Salerosa is exceptional, Maeva Feitelson’s vocals during If Love Is A Red Dress are breathtaking and you simply have to hear them to understand what I mean, Anton Stephans sings the final song in the show, A Satisfied Mind, and I almost forgot that Johnny Cash ever sang it originally, but it’s Lifford Shillingford whose smooth and soulful tone has been replaying in my mind. His rendition of Let’s Stay Together is the definition of easy listening, his voice is like silk dipped in honey and I could listen all day.
The music in this show is also performed in part by the cast - it's a “the cast makeup part of the band and also some of the band are in the cast” kinda situation - and it adds a really fun dimension to the whole energy of the show. George Maguire, who won an Olivier for his role in Sunny Afternoon which also utilised the cast are the band feature, shines every time he takes to the stage with his guitar. Aside from playing iconic scores beautifully well, and looking cool as anything doing it, you can see he’s having fun with it which is always a bonus as an audience member. James Byous joins him for the acoustic guitar work and is the perfect accompaniment to Cleo’s vocals in Malagueña.
Of course, it’s not simply a concert though, so it’s not all about the voices, but the good news is the acting is just as strong. There’s a real balance of comedy and high emotion in the scenes picked for this Tarantino celebration, and different people shine in different moments. Anton Stephans’ interpretation of Jules is a huge standout, he captures the essence of Samuel L Jackson but combines it with a softness and tenderness at times that is entirely Anton’s doing. George Maguire’s comedic timing is note-perfect, and he’s equally as brilliant in the scenes that require comedy as the ones that don’t, he puts his whole self in and holds nothing back. Someone else summed his performance in this up perfectly when they stopped him after to say “You were so brilliant, you were even acting with your toes.”
So, full disclaimer. I have only seen two Tarantino films, one of those I didn’t really even register it was a Tarantino film and I only watched it because it was Luke Perry’s final film and it starred Margot Robbie. Also my favourite films are Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Goonies, and Ratatouille. I am not the target audience for this show is the point. So when I left thinking “it’s a really great performance, all of these boxes are ticked, but I don’t really think there’s a cohesive plot.” I recognised that this might be my lack of Tarantino literacy at play. So I spoke to people who have seen the films, who understood all the references - I wanted to know if they got the plot. The general response from everyone was “No, I don’t get the throughline. Is there supposed to be one?” And that is the one major weakness in this show.
It’s pitched as all 9 films woven into 1 story, and on that front it doesn’t deliver. If it were sold as simply snapshots of his films to be taken individually, in a 2 hour Tarantino extravaganza it would be a 5 star show. I also think there’s a way to weave a few of his films together. The idea that the Reservoir Dogs work for Marcellus Wallace, the idea that Jules Winnfield and Jackie Brown go way back and he owes her and she’s sick of waiting for him to pay up, the idea that Mia Wallace has this big group of girls around her that are all in LA surrounded by Hollywood types including certifiably insane stuntmen - all of that tracks. If the one story from multiple films is the goal, then they could do something really brilliant with Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Deathproof, Jackie Brown, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It’s the inclusion of Inglorious Basterds, Hateful Eight, Kill Bill and Django Unchained where things get muddy and hard to follow.
One other issue as an audience member, is that this show doesn’t include a warning for racialised language. The closest it gets is ‘violent language’, but to be honest I don’t think that’s enough. There’s a scene in this show that clearly references the KKK and it’s less uncomfortable to watch than a scene about 5 minutes before it where two white men drop the n-word at least 5 times in around 3 minutes, and the phrase “black creatures” is used. Even knowing Tarantino’s proclivity for writing scenes where white men get to use the hard -er, it’s still incredibly jarring to watch when the warning board outside the room doesn’t mention that we should brace ourselves for the racially charged language. We as an audience don’t know which scenes have been picked, so the warnings should let us know this sort of thing will be included. I looked around the room as that scene was happening, and I could see that Black people were visibly uncomfortable. Even lines that were supposed to be funny, other Black audience members were barely cracking a smile at, and one physically winced when they heard “black creatures” said. Theatre isn’t always comfortable nor should it be, but it is important to let audiences know about obvious triggers like overt racism, especially in today’s social climate.
Overall, this show is a brilliant night out - the music is great, the vocals are unmatched, the acting is stellar, and I am reliably informed by Tarantino fans that the scenes have been translated super accurately to stage. Even without a fully cohesive plot, it’s a great show. So if you like his work it’s a no-brainer, you’ve got to get down and see it. But even if you’re like me and you haven’t seen many or any of his movies, you are still going to be blown away by what you hear, and you are going to have a blast seeing the spectacle they’ve created.
Tarantino Live is on at the Riverside Studios Hammersmith until August 13th, with shows Tuesday-Sunday. Matinees are Saturday and Sunday. Tickets from £28.95-£102.45. The most expensive seats are side of stage cabaret style with table service throughout the performance. Get tickets here, and use code BP20 for 20% off any ticket.