Review: 'Urinetown: The Musical' at Barn Theatre

In what was my first trip to the Barn Theatre in Cirencester, I really didn’t know what to expect. And when I looked at the poster to see the show I would be reviewing was called ‘Urinetown: The Musical’, I think I would have been forgiven for feeling a little apprehensive...

As I pulled up to the Barn Theatre, down a leafy country road alongside the beautifully ancient-looking Ingleside House, I was filled with a sense of calm. The buzz of excitement of the audience was radiating off the place as the theatre-goers were congregated outside the venue, clearly having made the most of the bar and were enjoying the last few moments of a gorgeously sunny afternoon. As I made my way through the crowd, I felt like everyone knew each other. Lots of cheek-kissing, lots of friendly, happy people clearly looking forward to a night at the theatre.

I picked up my ticket and my programme and was shown to my seat by Rachel Wright, Production Assistant and Choreographer of Theatre Ink, the company who were performing the show. I was given a quick tour of the facilities, which has had a big-budget re-fit, bringing the capacity to 195 seats, state of the art lighting and sound rig, and assured me the orchestra were ingeniously stashed neatly underneath the stage. The way the theatre is set up really makes great use of the space available. As soon as the audience filed in to the theatre from the outside area – which will be replaced by a brand new foyer and bar soon – the performance began. Being so close to the live music really made you feel like you were surrounded by the show.

Within five minutes of the show starting I knew I’d be in for a fantastic evening. When our narrator for the evening – Officer Lockstock – started sharing very self-aware lines about how the show would be full of symbolism, and that we wouldn’t meet our hero until Act Two, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Poking fun at musical theatre in general and the formulaic nature of the industry was really refreshing and gave the show a sense of intelligence I wasn’t expecting.

The story itself follows Bobby Strong as and a ragtag group of rebels fight for the right to ‘pee for free’, a luxury that has been taken away from the people by the evil ‘Urine Good Company’, following a twenty-year drought and close controls on public water usage. Early on in the show, Bobby’s dad, Old Man Strong, gets arrested for public urination after not having enough money to use the state-appointed amenities. He gets caught and taken to Urinetown; an infamous, terrible place that no-one has ever seen, who’s awful reputation and storied past strikes fear in to anyone who gets threatened to be taken there.

It’s a show that has everything you want from an entertaining musical comedy; great singing, truly laugh-out-loud jokes, satire (both of musical theatre and of socio-political bureaucracy), and a central ‘will they, won’t they’ love story, because as the narrator points out “everyone loves the hero of the story”.

I’ve never heard a crowd of 195 people make so much noise when the show ended, and deservedly so. If this show is indicative of just how fantastic a Theatre Ink performance is at Barn Theatre, then I’ll definitely be going back.

Theatre Ink will be back next year for a performance of Into the Woods.