Review: End of the Rainbow, Soho Theatre Walthamstow

It’s not easy to remain neutral in a room so filled with love for the character and performer on stage. At Soho Theatre Walthamstow the atmosphere is electric as the audience, including many clearly gay spectators, filter in. They’re here for Jinkx Monsoon and for Judy Garland. They’re additionally here to recognise people who have suffered difficult lives, struggled with addiction, and with being manipulated. So, my job as a reviewer is initially made difficult – but come the end, I’m all in: End of the Rainbow is simply unmissable.

Judy Garland’s story is truly tragic. One of the most iconic and beloved of performers, her final weeks saw her playing an erratic season of shows at the Talk of the Town in London. Peter Quilter’s sensitive script covers these final weeks, imagining her decline overseen by fifth husband, Mickey Deans (Jacob Dudman), and with insight from gay pianist Anthony (Adam Filipe), shortly before her untimely death. 

Jasmine Swan’s fabulously elegant set literally merges with the theatre we inhabit, so there’s a blending of worlds. We’re Judy’s audience, and as she arrives from amongst us, boundaries between her reality and her stage persona are confused. Monsoon’s entrance is simply breathtaking. That voice, mastered to perfection, stuns the audience into silence and immediately connects us emotionally. She doesn’t just imitate Garland, she become her. And this level of commitment and conviction is maintained throughout the entire show, where she delivers not just exceptional vocals but a richly layered understanding of a broken woman, desperate for help to fight her addiction, yet unable to accept it. This Judy is at times delightfully playful and humorous, almost childlike, grasping for the childhood she never properly experienced. At others she is desperately empty, loving and hating her audience simultaneously; trapped in a life where they are the one constant. Monsoon masters every imaginable emotion in a textured, world class delivery that manifests her many skills, from meticulous actor, to comic queen, to Broadway diva, making her damaged character understandable.

In solidly contrasting performances, Filipe as Anthony and Dudman as Mickey secure the ties that pull Judy apart as the emotional extremes of what she needs: one considering her wellbeing, the other selfishly swayed by her monetary value. The characters anchor important themes, identifying ongoing mistreatment of women in the entertainment industry, and providing opportunity to debate the symbiotic relationship between Judy and her gay followers – friends of Dorothy.

Rupert Hands‘ skilful direction transforms an open space into one where our imaginations are stimulated, articulating Judy’s exposed vulnerability but also her dazzling talent. At moments it’s actually tangible, the heat from a wall of blinding lights scorching Judy beneath them, and also felt by the audience. He moves bodies as objects across the stage, acting out the negotiation of power perfectly in their proximities and visualising Judy’s needs, whether addictive or emotional, with clarity.

Of course no show about Judy Garland would succeed without exceptional music. Here, vibrant performance from a fantastic live band, under Musical Director Nick Barstow, ignites the room, actively transporting us from the blank hotel suite to the club, identifying where Judy truly comes alive and allowing us to feel that change. A superb selection of classics are delivered, from upbeat numbers like ‘The Trolley Song’ to the ironic ‘Get Happy’, before ‘Come Rain or Shine’ offers a poignant reminder of her self-sabotaging, addicted self. 

End of the Rainbow is an excellent production made exceptional by the talent of Jinkx Monsoon. She utterly owns the part, drawing on dire personal experience and stretching her skills to create a thing of hope that ultimately celebrates the enormous positivity Judy left in the world.

Produced by Lambert Jackson Productions
Playwright: Peter Quilter
Director: Rupert Hands
Musical Supervisor, Orchestrator and Arranger: Leo Munby
Musical Director: Nick Barstow
Set and Costume Design: Jasmine Swan
Lighting Design: Prema Mehta
Sound Design: Tony Gayle

End of the Rainbow plays at Soho Theatre Walthamstow until Sunday 21 June.