REVIEW: FIT by Joe Wiltshire Smith and Sam Wells at Golden Goose Theatre 17 - 22 October 2022

Image: In rehearsal

REVIEW: FIT by Joe Wiltshire Smith and Sam Wells at the Golden Goose Theatre 17 - 22 October 2022

'Tenacious-D met with Avenue Q, absurd as well as intricate' ★★★ ½

Joe Wiltshire Smith and Sam Wells have come together to produce new musical ‘FIT’, a jet-black comedy satire about identity, self worth and love, one that highlights the conformity and shallowness of social media in the modern day. It starts within the confinements of a crisis helpline centre where we meet protagonist Leanne, played by Megan Jobling, perfectly cast by the way, it screamed Daisy May Coopers performance in This Country. When Leanne finds herself spiralling after being fired from her job, she embarks on a quest to cancel her all time insta-model idol, Poppy, played by Ellamae Cieslik. What ensues is a whirlwind story full of rabid cat puppets, acid trips and bloody deaths.

A stand out performance for me was by Tom Holt, multi-rolling between a pig man in a gown, a manager, an old lady with ruthless bowel problems, and BJ, a wannabe roadman who secretly lives in Hampstead. His energy was electric, and though everyone in the play clearly felt comfortable onstage, he really embraced the style and knew how to play with the text in an engaging way for an audience. I must say a lot of the other performances felt slightly too shouty and under-rehearsed, which sadly for an audience member made you lose the characters journey or arc. This may have been due to the length of the piece, with a running time of two hours and (I assume) not a massive rehearsal period, getting this musical ready would have been a massive feat, and whilst I commend the effort, it felt like the show could have done with some significant cuts.

The music is great, lyrically it’s like Tenacious-D met with Avenue Q, absurd as well as intricate, really suiting the style that Joe and Sam set out within the text. To match the comedic numbers there’s some beautiful ballads sang eloquently by Ellamae Cieslik and Megan Jobling, across the board the singing was a sensation in fact. The show has a lovely melody that appears throughout, one that you find yourself humming quietly on the tube back home. The acting through song however felt misguided and erratic, there was a lot of wandering around the stage that definitely could have been kept more static, maybe met with some dancers to accompany them? At times it felt eggy.

Jordan Scott Turner as director had a massive job on his hands with this mammoth of a show, he definitely succeeded in providing an entertaining night out for all, the audience clearly loved it. I also put it down to him in creating an environment for the actors to feel free and not take themselves too seriously, not caring if a joke doesn’t land and going full pelt for the next one! I feel real laugh out loud comedy is a dying breed and I hope this team is one to revive that in the future.

FIT

Written by Joe Wiltshire Smith and Sam Wells

Directed by Jordan Scott Turner

17th - 22nd October

Box Office: https://www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk/fit

Reviewer: Elan Butler is alumni of East15, The Nottingham TV Workshop and National Youth Theatre. He is an actor and writer, who represented East15 in the spotlight prize final, 2021. As a current member of Leicester Curves Playwriting course and Pentabus Young Writers, his main focus lies with contemporary theatre that aims to nurture new stories and break boundaries.