A tricky concept delivered with humour and skill. Summary
Rating
Ok
With a name like Glamazon Prime and promotional images featuring the cast in blue boiler suits, you’d be forgiven for expecting a show about life in an Amazon warehouse. However, this is actually an improvised musical based, quite literally, on the contents of an Amazon box. Before the performance, audience members are invited to contribute ideas by writing the name of a film or show on a slip of paper and placing it in the box. Two are drawn at random, and the audience then votes on which one will be turned into a fully improvised musical.
At this particular performance, Inglourious Basterds was selected. The cast then asked the audience member who submitted the film to provide a quick summary of the plot. Impressively, based on this brief overview, the four performers created a series of songs and scenes that roughly followed the film’s storyline. It’s an ambitious premise, but unfortunately it doesn’t always hit the mark, perhaps due to the film chosen, which proved a tricky foundation for comedy.
That said, the cast deserve credit for skilfully turning a serious and violent narrative into both comedic and more emotionally resonant musical numbers. Emma Read, Aisling Groves-McKeown, Holly Mallett and Lauren Ingram clearly have strong chemistry and a wealth of improvisational experience between them. They work hard to keep the show afloat throughout the hour-long performance, with high energy and enthusiasm.
The musical accompaniment, provided by Flick Isaac-Chilton and Duncan Walsh Atkins, also deserves a mention. The musicians transition effortlessly between musical styles, reacting in real time to the performers’ cues and adding a polished, cohesive feel to the songs.
However, the show does suffer from pacing issues. At times, scenes drag on without enough development, which leads to a loss of momentum and some restlessness in the audience. The format itself is ambitious, but perhaps too reliant on the suitability of the chosen film. A more successful structure might involve selecting a film genre rather than a specific title, which would offer the performers more flexibility and reduce the risk of mismatch between the tone of the film and the resulting improvised musical.
Glamazon Prime showcases some very talented performers and musicians, but the show’s concept slightly lets them down. With a few tweaks to the format or a tighter runtime, it could evolve into something truly entertaining from start to finish.
Glamazon Prime has now finished its run at Phoenix Arts Club
