Review: SUPERSONIC MAN, Southwark Playhouse Borough
Photo credit: Louis Burgess
Adam’s life is pretty perfect. He has a plethora of friends who love him to pieces, his journalistic work is thriving and he has Darryl, his devoted partner. Then the news comes: Adam has motor neurone disease…so naturally, he sets his sights on becoming a human cyborg.
The show is based on the true life story of Peter Scott-Morgan, who was the first gay man to legally marry his partner in England, and inspired by his documentary ‘Peter- The Human Cyborg’. Supported by the MND Association throughout its development, the current production at the Southwark Playhouse Borough officially marks the show's premiere.
The set is surprisingly dynamic. It looks like the perfect, colourful picture postcard of Brighton, which creates a stark contrast to the more serious subject matter of the show, with set changes mainly consisting of moving minimalistic set pieces and bringing on the occasional prop. The props themselves are sparse, used effectively to add emphasis to the dialogue in a similar way to the way rhyme is used to punctuate lines in musical theatre songs.
The use of a CPR dummy to create the illusion of Adam in a hospital bed, having undergone major surgery, is a particular stroke of genius because it allows Adam's internal world to be shown in direct contrast to the immobile body his incredibly active and sharp mind is trapped in.
Philip Joel does a great job with his choreography of the show. It is fearlessly camp and expertly adds to the comedy with its expressiveness.
It must be said that writer/director Chris Burgess is an absolute genius. His musical comedy writing skills are outstanding and he isn’t afraid to venture into the realm of dark comedy when needed. He doesn’t hold back at all, his presentation of disability is by far the best we’ve seen to date. It's incredibly realistic with its addressing of the damaging effects of toxic positivity, inspiration porn and ableist ignorance, as well as the fact that becoming disabled comes with a grieving process.
But he also gives his protagonist agency, allowing for total transparency in both how it feels to become disabled and having to come to terms with a diagnosis, but also how it feels to fight the world to show them that disabled people are vastly more capable than people think. He lets Adam dream and aspire and not take no for an answer, he lets Adam dictate the terms of his life.
He makes the point that Adam is just a guy who’s living his life to the full, in spite of what anyone else says. He’s not trying to be an inspiration, he’s dreaming big about the life he wants for himself. He’s not doing anything particularly revolutionary, he’s just trying to be treated as equally as an able bodied person. He’s just trying to live.
Burgess doesn’t shy away from presenting a range of perspectives either, whether this be from Darryl who’s caring for and watching his partner go through this, unable to do anything except stay by his side or from his friends, who rally round to support them both. Though it ends the way it does in the real world, this story isn’t a tragedy and Adam isn't presented as a burden to any of his loved ones. If anything, the media is villainised, as it should be, for sensationalising and furthering ableist narratives. And social media is presented as a breeding ground for extreme debates.
The cast is phenomenal. It's clear that they all really believe in the script and the barriers it's trying to break. Dominic Sullivan gives a stormingly nuanced performance in the role of Darryl and his voice can stop time with its power. Dylan Aiello gives the show the camp energy it needs to be truly electric; he’s thrilling to watch on stage even during his characters darker moments. He presents Adam as bursting with drive and life force and we honestly believe that he’d make an incredible cyborg.
A call to dream big and to not let society dictate the limits. This show is urgent and says we must all do better to love and fully embrace the disabled community and see it as made up of valued individuals who make as much of a meaningful contribution as any able bodied person.
Immediate and vital. Timeless and needed.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Megan O’Neill
Supersonic Man plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 3 May, with further info here.
