Almeida theatre, London
Rupert Goold’s production of the alt-rock musical has a talented young cast and some striking moments but the songs are often banal
It is audacious of Rupert Goold to stage a flamboyantly morose alt-rock musical about teenage repression and rebellion for a Christmas show. Based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play – banned or censored across the ages – it does not have many fuzzy edges and its staging now feels more refreshing for it.
Set in a provincial German town dominated by a cheerless Lutheranism, the story revolves around adolescents dealing with sexual desire, homosexuality, rape, suicide and back-street abortions. Their teen angst was originally set to song by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, partly sparked by the aftermath of the Columbine shootings, and became a big hit on Broadway in 2006.
At the Almeida, London, until 22 January
