Batman Live Review

A golden opportunity was handed to me on Tuesday 19th July, to witness the opening night of 'Batman Live' at the M.E.N. Arena.

Expectations were high fuelled by nerves
and flaw dropping 'Bat' excitement

Pondering as I do whilst waiting for the doors of the theatre to open, one could not help but be overrun by a sense of emotion. Expectations were high fuelled by nerves and flaw dropping 'Bat' excitement. On entering the theatre you were immediately struck by a lavish detailed set supported by a computer generated backdrop.

 

With months of preparation and boasting a £7 million budget the stage was now set to see my favourite comic book hero brought to life!

 

However the set, as detailed as it was gothic was unfortunately nothing new and echoed concept designs from movies such as 'Batman Forever (1995), Batman and Robin (1997) and Batman the animated series. Still undeterred the show moved forward only to display further flaws in character evolution, story and design.

 

Batman Live was written for the stage by D.C. Comics Stan Berkowitz, Alan Burnett and Allan Heinberg, offering only the basics of the medium we all love which is Batman.

This is 'Gotham' !!!

A deep sigh scorned the lips of the audience as it
became that this was how it all began...AGAIN.

"Bruce Wayne as a child, parents murdered, now Batman and the yawnful tale of Dick Grayson and his journey to become the annoying sidekick Robin"

Sidekicks were a common and popular part of any comic book from the 1930's-1940's but quickly disappeared thankfully as the medium changed. As with any lead character portrails in comics/movies, the integration of a sidekick/companion only elaborates true flaws in the initial story and unfortunately Batman Live is one.

 

Packed with all the well known villains to fill the the gaps in-between story lines they only managed skirting appearances a few minutes here a few minutes there which was disappointing considering we've only ever seen a true alliance of Gothams underworld in the 1966 Batman the movie with Adam West and Burt Ward.

 

  • Overshadowed by the lead roles of the Joker (Mark Frost) and Harley Quinn (Poppy Tierney) the only character to really grab you was the feared Scarecrow (First comic app: worlds finest comics #3.1941) played by Ian Henderson which we all know is Batman's most feared enemy.
  • The Joker (First comic app: Batman #1.1940) reminded me more of 'Robbie Rotten' from Sportacus's Lazy Town and failed to deliver the true portrayal of this now infamous character (see: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland).
  • Poison Ivy (First comic app: Batman #181) played by Valerie Murzak was sexy and alluring and displayed all that is our deepest fantasy.
  • Catwoman (First comic app: Batman #1.1940) played by Emma Clifford was convincing but failed to capture the imagination unlike Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in Batman Returns (1992).
  • These along with the Penguin (First comic app: Detective comics #58.1941) played by Alex Giannini,
  • The Riddler (first comic app: detective comics #140.1948) played by Christopher Price.
  • Harley Quinn (first comic app: all-american comics #89.1947) offered an exciting alliance but somehow failed to produce the impact needed. Names won't do it alone.
  • Robin/Dick Grayson (first comic app: Detective comics #38) was played by Michael Pickering/Karman Darabi-Ford and just as annoying as Chris O'Donnell's performance in Batman Forever and Batman and Robin.

The star of the show as always was the Batmobile
but despite the hype it was only on stage
for a maximum of ten minutes"

The star of the show as always was the Batmobile, designed by Formula One designer Gordan Murray but still with all the hype surrounding the new Batmobile it itself was only on stage for a maximum of ten minutes.

 

Batman created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger (first comic app: Detective comics #27.1939) has become the Liberty statue of the comic-book world and therefore must be handled with the up-most caution and with the highest degree of respect as Batman illuminates everything we 'comic geeks' aspire to. However this performance was portrayed by Nick Court/Sam Helighan both with credited histories in drama and theatre, they too failed to capture the enigma which is Batman. Constantly becoming caught up in his cloak and struggling for some sort of stage presence Batman became more like the 'Dollar Bill' character from Alan Moores Watchmen.

 

Overall this is a gutsy and entertaining attempt to bring an iconic character like Batman to the live stage but for all it's good points they were out weighed by it's many bad points and failed to deliver a euphoric and long remembered performance.

 

Batman Live was very reminiscent of the stories we acted out in our working class back streets as children and has been well-overshadowed by Christopher Nolans up-beat modernistic approach to Batman such as Batman Begins (2005), Batman: The Dark Knight (2008) and soon Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

 

However children, across the globe I'm sure will enjoy and devour the adventures of Batman and perhaps awaken their sense of adventure which has laid dormant in our children thanks to technology .

For now Batman is Safe and
'only one will rule the night'.

Review by Luke Askew for Manchester Gossip.
For more about Luke see - www.AtomicComica.co.uk