Fringe Review: ROB KEMP: BEATLESJUICE, Hoots 2 at Hoots @ The Apex
Photo credit: Isabelle Adam
In England’s capital city, you can currently see the Broadway transfer of the musical adaptation of Beetlejuice with an original score by Australian musical comedian, Eddie Perfect. Meanwhile, in Scotland’s capital city, you can see the story of Beetlejuice told through the music of The Beatles in a show created and performed by British musical comedian, Rob Kemp.
It’s almost hard to believe that no one has thought to combine Beetlejuice and The Beatles before but Rob Kemp has now and it works really quite well. Kemp has cleverly rewritten lyrics to songs by The Beatles, syncing this up perfectly with an abridged version of the film to retell the story of Tim Burton’s cult hit. The precision required to align the sound with the projections is already impressive, before you add in any of the other elements. The show is definitely strongest when a more well-known song from The Beatles is used but even if you don’t know the original song, it’s still good fun.
Kemp does not hold back with the production values in this show. The handmade appearance of some of the elements just adds to the charm, proving that this really is a passion project for Kemp. Kemp has a whole host of very well designed costumes that allow for very quick changes throughout the show. A range of props help to bring the film to life even more in the room (yes, the iconic sand worms included!).
Rob Kemp is clearly a staple part of many people’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe - it was clear that many in the audience were regulars at his shows. He has a great rapport with the audience immediately, adding in a healthy dose of audience participation. Hopefully, Beatlesjuice is a show that can introduce more people to Kemp’s creative genius.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jacob Bush