Wolfboy

Adapted from Brad Fraser’s 1981 play, this ambitious musical can be taken in as many ways as you like, from sexual thriller to buddy story or even horror tale. On two beds in a nameless psychiatric hospital lie two youths. Wide-boy Bernie (Gregg Lowe) has slit his wrists while David (Paul Holowaty) thinks he’s a wolf. In their own ways, both put stiff resistance up to nurse Cherry’s kindly but firm attempts to get them to communicate their problems – Bernie refuses to write down his thoughts, David simply won’t speak.

A concerned visitor is Bernie’s brother Christian (Lee Latchford-Evans) – to whom Cherry (Katie Beard) takes a shine – while in the dark hours David has visits of quite a different nature from the mysterious disembodied Annie. As the sinister story emerges of why they are there, the youths develop an unlikely friendship that grows as violence turns to trust.

It’s a bit of a mixed bag. The cast works commendably hard, although their otherwise excellent voices are not suited for Leon Parris’ songs. Meanwhile, the musical struggles not to be eclipsed by the play in Russell Labey’s script. Additionally, Wolfboy cannot make up its mind whether to be sung-through or not, resulting in no stand-out numbers, aside from the stripped-down and disturbing brothers’ song in the final third. Still, with the right investment, all of this can be easily fixed since this is a musical with great potential to go national.