A Jaffa Cake Musical ★★★

We have all been a part of, in some way, the age-old debate ‘Is a Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a Cake?’ No matter what your opinion, #teamcake or #teambiscuit, we are never 100% sure, until in the conversation someone inevitably brings up the 1991 legal case when the UK tax authorities (HMRC) and the manufacturer of Jaffa Cakes, McVitie’s, went to court over whether Jaffa Cakes should be classified as cakes or biscuits for tax purposes. Gigglemug are notorious for turning the mundane into the musical and finding a small bit of magic in the most plain and banal of situations. This legal case does not quite sound like the basis for a musical, and yet Gigglemug said otherwise and created A Jaffa Cake Musical.

Seasoned professionals and highly skilled in composing original songs and comic, metatheatrical story telling, Gigglemug have clearly worked very hard on this musical, so hard you can see the effort in their high production value brown and orange staging and hear it in their clever wordplay and questionable rhyming. Despite the intelligence that goes into creating something musical from nothing and how talented each performer is, this
production, unlike its inspiration, lacks zest and a citrusy kick. Gigglemug feels somewhat late to the legal musical game after the likes of Gwyneth Goes Skiing, I Wish You Well and Committee . Some legal cases really don’t need to be turned into a musical and this is one of them. The prosecution to defence, singing their argument in a song, coupled with a plethora of musical tropes, Lin-Manuel style rapping, tap dancing, self-indulgent belting and a cartwheel feels repetitive and unmemorable, overbaked and overdone.

The issue with this production, lies with the plot, as much as a Fosse-style Taxman villain number, creates some sense of an underdog to route for, there is very little reason to invest in these characters. Take the lead Jake (the fictional representation of McVitie): it is very hard to root for someone who is trying to find a legal loophole to pay less taxes, no matter how angelic his harmonising is. Surely it’s time to put legal-dispute musicals back on the shelf and in the biscuit tin.

There are some memorable moments: “you wouldn’t dunk a cake” and “you take the mick, you really take the biscuit”, and their clever wordplay and cheesy double entendres clearly showcase their ability to compose catchy and fun songs. However for every good song, there is another full of vague non-sequiturs, yet strangely specific or an unrelatable ‘woe is me’ ballad, with a nightmarish floating Jaffa Cake head panto-esque scene as the cherry on top.

The creators of this show clearly have an abundance of talent, wit and musical ability. Where this production lacks the zest is in the story telling and lack of investment in the characters’ lives leaving the audience little to relate to. While there are occasional moments in which you find yourself mildly invested in this story, unlike tucking into a Jaffa Cake, it is ultimately unsatisfying.

Despite the disappointment of this production, with the fringe legacy that Gigglemug have accumulated, there is still a sense of excitement and trepidation for what they create next year. Their following will buy tickets and there will be a buzz for what Gigglemug do next. Let’s hope the topic they choose will have a bit more bite.