THEATRE REVIEW: Saucy Jack And The Space Vixens - Tribeca, Manchester.

Teal Heart Productions brought to the Manchester Festival Fringe a show which had it's West End debut fifteen years ago and continues to delight audiences with vibrant echoes of '60’s and '70’s comedy sci-fi mingled with rock musical theatre.

‘Saucy Jack’ has its own dedicated website and comparisons can be made to ‘The Rocky Horror Show’, both shows having an in-your-face attitude to sex and sexualities, cult followings and outrageous, camp characters. However, there are key differences; the music of ‘Saucy Jack’ is much more varied in styles including disco, rock and even '20’s Berlin-style cabaret. Certain songs have the feel of a Lloyd-Webber style opera and the overall feel is more eclectic than ‘Rocky Horror’. Also, ‘Saucy Jack’ is not designed for standard theatrical presentation and perhaps works best as a kind of extended cabaret form of entertainment, although it is certainly a full-length show with a story to tell.

The loose story to ‘Saucy Jack’ is of lesser importance than the characters themselves, centring on night-club owner Saucy Jacky and a trio of interplanetary sex kittens known as ‘Space Vixens’. Joel Dyer as Saucy Jack admirably held everything together until meeting his match with the stunning arrival of the Vixens who exploded onto the stage with the most memorable song of the show ’Glitter Boots Saved My life’ (with also, it would appear, fishnet tights and skin-tight silver mini-dresses!). Stacey Coleman took centre–stage as the Vixen leader; the aptly named Jubilee Climax. The other Vixens on everyone’s lips were Solaya Sang as the buoyant Bunny Lingus and Katy Oliver as the dippy Anna Labia. Emma Ashcroft stood out as Chesty Prospects and an upstanding performance was given by Ian as Dr Von Whackoff. All the cast really gelled together with MJ Manning and Callum Maypole convincingly playing the ‘waitresses Booby Shevalle and Benny the Waitor and Michael Loftus memorably jumping about all over the place as Mitch Maypole. Not forgetting the sheer sax appeal of Callum O’Rouke as Sammy Sax.

Aside from the fun, dancing and music, it has to be said ‘Saucy Jack’ did have its serious moments and on occasion, some very dramatic surprises. For the most part, a constant pace was maintained whilst covering a range of moods and the overall effect was a thoroughly enjoyable night out. ‘Saucy Jack’ is not a show for everyone and requires a certain amount of broad mindedness  but in uncertain times with much in the news to be depressed about, a show like ’Saucy Jack’ provides wonderful, zany escapism in which the audience feel at one with the cast as they are taken through a musical odyssey by a wide range of whacky characters in great outfits.

This production of ‘Saucy Jack’ was performed in the basement at Tribeca, where there's a small stage but the performance area encompassed the whole of the audience area including even behind the bar (and upon it!). This was an in-the-thrust performance in every sense of the word and it seems that the show was specifically written to for this kind of close-up performance. The audience clearly loved the close interaction with the cast, which at eleven strong, when fully assembled could only just fit into the main performance area. This only added to the fun nature of the show and perhaps not surprisingly, the evening with pretty much the whole audience on their feet, dancing with all the cast.

‘Saucy Jack’ is not just a show to watch but to experience; a fun-filled hour or so of fast moving mayhem and essentially, a great night out.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 3.10.21