Evil Dead The Musical - Wanneroo Repertory (2 May 2024)

It would be fair to say I didn't quite know what to expect as I travelled northwards to a secluded theatre in the woods hoping to be distracted from the evils of modern life. Little did I imagine what malevolent forces awaited me from aggressive foliage, foul mouthed demons, and deadly kitchen utensils to all manner of shenanigans with critters and a chainsaw. Sure, I had seen the movie the musical is based on when I was back in, ahem, high school but how could such a horror classic be converted into an all singing, all slaying stage production? 

Well, the answer turned out to be a gloriously ingenious and over-the-top homage/parody of the first two Evil Dead movies and this sort of horror fare in general. I happily cackled my way throughout the show adding to the raucous response of the audience who lapped up the excess, the fake gore, and a production that revelled in its many eccentricities. 

The scene is set with a marvellous representation of the Necronomicon - The Book of the Dead - which only goes to show that reading can be bad for you, especially when it summons demons! Our intrepid college students - Ash (Luke Miller), Cheryl (Escher Roe), Scott (Jordan Richards), Linda (Ellie Coburn), and Shelly (Naomi Capon) discover the book and a tape recording of a translation in a cabin deep in the woods. Mayhem ensues. The second act loosely incorporates elements of the sequel whereby Annie (Capon), her assistant Ed (Max Leunig), with the aid of Jake (Clayton Van Dijk) travel to the cabin only to join in said mayhem.  

First time director Kieran Ridgway has presented a technically inventive production with flair and energy that shows a deep love and understanding of the source material. Everything is dialled up to eleven but the zaniness never gets (too) out of hand and is in service of mining the inherent absurdities of the premise to maximum effect. 

The cabin set (design by Luke Miller and 'Cast & Crew') is not only visually on point but conceals so many secrets that are a delight to watch as they burst into action in all sorts of ways. The woods are represented by evocative flats and, in one of the most notorious scenes from the movie, brooding tree-clad actors. Notably, there is prominent use of a trap door at the front of the stage. 

The multitude of props (Sean Wcislo, Astro Stewart, Coralie Steward & Teah Steward) is impressive with Ash's chainsaw perhaps the most famous. There is also hilarious use of puppetry with one reveal surprising the hell out of me, much to my mirth. SFX Mask Designer Kylana McIntosh and Costume Designer Stella Sawyer present a range of looks for the demons which cleverly deconstructs their human clothing and appearance. There's even a running gag about the sort of gratuitous costume choices often made in horror movies for the heroine. 

The mood and look of the show is enhanced by excellent lighting design by Shelly Miller - I particularly liked the 'portal effect' as the demons are vanquished - and Sound Design by Chris McRae. The sounds of the forest and the whispers of the demons ("Join us!") are contrasted with a lot of shrieking by, particularly, Roe's demon but we rarely lose clarity in what must have been a tricky balance to get right.

Then there's the four piece band under Musical Director Jasper Cruden who's also on keys. The Limelight Theatre has the advantage of using a pit so the rock score didn't overly intrude on the vocals. Cruden is joined by Ian Tassicker on drums/percussion, Chris Ingram on bass, and Chris Johnston on guitar who supplied many tasty licks throughout. 

To the performances and the cast excelled in delineating their human characters from the demonic versions. Everyone had a chance to shine so here are some highlights:

The show takes off with the song Look Who's Evil Now where Roe's buttoned down Cheryl transforms into a demonic heckler that would make Statler & Waldorf blush as she pops up from the trap door throughout the show to harangue our heroes. It's a full-throated performance that Roe revels in. What The Fuck Was That? is the hilarious response by Miller and Richards; the former increasingly becoming the hero of proceedings with a bravura physical sequence where he fights himself to uproarious effect. Richards has his own deftly timed comic sequence involving all the entrails one can carry.

Van Dijk wows the audience with Good Old Reliable Jake in a go big or go home performance that would terrify the locals in Deliverance and has a hint of Vincent D'Onofrio from Men in Black. Max Leunig's Ed has an ongoing bit with Capon's Annie that is like the The Upside Down version of Amos from Chicago which is paid off with a delightfully perverse mutation of Mister Cellophane in Bit-Part Demon. He was about to get his Razzle Dazzle on but sorry Ed, no starring parts for you!

Capon gets to be a true triple threat - playing the vacuous Shelly in the first half; the demon version of said tag along girlfriend; then the seemingly brilliant daughter of the archaeologist who started this whole mess, Annie, who has an unfortunate and persistent wardrobe malfunction. Capon balances all these contradictions, costume and wig changes with style; her starring number being All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Kandarian Demons. 

Coburn plays Linda with a sweetness that belies the craziness around her until she too gets her freak on with some demonic possession. Then there's Alyssa Burton who has such a bizarre cameo as Fake Shemp that I was howling with disbelief of the what did I just witness variety?

Shout-outs to choreographer Breanne Lucas, especially for the big dance number Do the Necronomicon, and fight choreographer Kyren Cleave for the finale where Ash kicks demon butt. 

I really enjoyed the large performances, the intricacies of the staging, the musical accompaniment, the running gags and sight gags, and the commitment to this crazy world of demonic possession. One thing I didn't expect was to laugh so much but this was truly funny and a most entertaining evening of theatre.

Evil Dead The Musical is on at the Limelight Theatre in Wanneroo until 11 May.