REVIEW: LAST SALES CONFERENCE OF THE APOCALYPSE by David Bain at Waterloo East Theatre until 30 October 2022

‘a musical with toe tappingly memorable songs and an impactful emotional payoff in the second act’ ★★★ ½

The payoff for the show comes in the second act, when the stories of the three of the characters are finally laid bare. This part of the show is totally absorbing and moving.  Brutal truths are shown about the impact of domestic abuse and conversion therapy in the lives of LGBTQ people. The bullying comes in forms that are rarely explored, because they are so varied, but anyone who has lived it will be able to empathise to the bottom of their soul.  Very impactful and a delightful sharing in a friendly and kindly way.

Up to this point, the show has been in the world of fantasy. An IT department in a bunker (fantastic set design by Valentina Turtur) accidentally sets off a nuclear missile countdown. Whilst the team desperately try to correct this, the head of the department, Sam, starts to relive memories from his past. 

This musical comedy has four main characters, each of whom sing numbers, composed and written by David Bain. The music is one of the joys of the productions, whilst some should be stolen by Disney (they are quite jaunty) they are mostly toe tappingly memorable (sometimes literally as two include tap dancing routines). One favourite song is Support Me which is available to watch on youtube.  Another is a flowing waltz charmingly danced by the ensemble.

The cast are well chosen and play four very distinct personalities with some doubling up for the fantasy roles. Daniel Nyari as T-Base has some terrific dance moves but most notably he has great chemistry with Jonny Brace playing the lead role of Sam. There is also a voice over from Marcus Bentley (of Big Brother fame) which booms out instructions giving a dream like quality to the piece.

There is also multimedia, a scene with animation inspired by Space Invaders. The game is played using projection in which all of the main characters have their own cartoon doubles; very impressive, quirky and highly original. 

Sure, there are criticisms as well. The first act seems wacky, and even chaotic. The story is quite unclear and it’s not until the second act that it all starts to fall into place. There is also the occasional tendency to patronize the audience (for example by explaining the meaning of vocabulary used – which happened twice). Some of the choreography doesn’t quite come off and shows up the inexperience of the less able dancers. And did we really need the panto style double entendres? Maybe this was aimed at a younger audience. Finally, the storyline about the Vicar didn’t really become clear, and neither did there appear to be any closure for T-Base. 

Having said all of that, it is a musical which deserves to be seen, especially for anyone who has ever been touched by the issues that drive the show.   There is a terrific energy from the cast and it’s clear that a lot of work has gone into making this very complex show.

Read our interview with composer/writer/director, David Bain here.

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Skitzoid Productions present the PREMIERE of

LAST SALES CONFERENCE OF THE APOCALYPSE by David Bain

WATERLOO EAST THEATRE

Brad Street London SE1 8TN

4 – 30 October 2022

​Box Office https://www.waterlooeast.co.uk/last-sales-conference-of-the-apocalypse

Cast

Jonny Brace

Katie Penfold

Zara Evans

Daniel Nyari

Marcus Bentley

Creatives

Writer/Director – David Bain

Set Designer – Valentina Turtur

Choreographer – Julia Zlotnick

Associate Producer – Kieran Bohan

Reviewed by Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine