American Psycho – Almeida Theatre ★★★★

By The Recs DR - Dan Reeves 3 months ago

‘American Psycho’, Rupert Goold’s final production as artistic director of the Almeida, ends with a bang, not a whimper.

American Psycho the musical, based on the Brett Easton Ellis book and subsequent film adaptation, is a thrilling multimedia spectacle with more to say about the current state of the world than you might expect. 

Following an 80s New York investment banker, Patrick Bateman, American Psycho tracks the mental breakdown of a man who seems to have it all but turns to serial murder in search of purpose and feeling. It’s a cold and graphic story that may seem out of place in the musical theatre genre. However, something about the source material has become scarily relevant in recent times. White men that have it all yet still want more is an ever-present theme in our society. An endless need for money, power, and sex. It’s a simple story but has enough disturbing twists and turns to hold you captive for its duration. American Psycho has maybe never been more urgent and alarming. 

Images by Marc Brenner

Moving away from Christian Bale’s movie depiction, Arty Froushan gives us a more knowingly damaged version of Bateman. From early on it’s clear to both of us and him that he’s slipping into crisis. It’s an engaging performance, but at times this interpretation seems at odds with the character’s flippant, detached statements of killing that are scattered liberally throughout the text. Anastasia Martin gives a standout performance as Jean, Bateman’s long-standing secretary and love interest. Easily the most grounded, real character in the show, she oozes naivety and vulnerability. She also gives us an impressive vocal performance in some of the show’s only stripped-back moments. 

Although Duncan Sheik’s 80s synth EDM score isn’t instantly memorable, it conjures up a powerful sense of time and place. It’s camp and playful, yet sharply unnerving, with wild musical numbers where the entire ensemble are massacred and left as broken, twisted bodies on the stage. Mixed with some jukebox classics from the period, there’s a lot to enjoy even if there’s little to hum on your journey home. It’s an achievement of atmosphere building more than storytelling. 

The choreography by Lynne Page is simple but effective. Using repetitive motion and constantly moving formations across the stage, there’s a sense of an unending cycle of a city that’s slowly breaking down. Movements become more fractured and stressed as the show progresses, perfectly building tension and a sense that all we know is falling apart in front of our eyes. It’s brave, vigorous, and delivered with relentless energy by the talented ensemble. 

In the first act, American Psycho walks a fine line between dark satire and straight-up parody, too often slipping towards the latter. Some of the performances feel too broad and knowing, while others are played with cold sincerity, fitting more comfortably within a world that is both real and outrageous in equal measure. 

American Psycho the musical works best when the company are playing it straight and the writing is taking itself most seriously. The premise of a musicalisation of this story is ridiculous enough without the production needing to point it out to us. And the story is tried and tested; there really is a cold beauty in it all that works surprisingly well for the stage. 

For its few, fleeting faults, American Psycho the musical is filled to bursting with heart-racing excitement and stylish, pulsing creativity. 

If you like your theatre laced with bloodlust, cynicism and LED screens, this is the show for you! American Psycho is a musical event that’s sure to remain lodged in the back of your mind, whether for the spectacular visuals or just the surreal premise itself. 

A production engineered with sharp design and lethal execution.  ★★★★ 4 stars

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The Recs DR - Dan Reeves
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