When Kong is first revealed, there were actually gasps of horror from the audience. While his gargantuan six-metre frame initially stunned us, as the play progressed you began to appreciate the detail of this brilliant design, such as after his confrontation with bullet fire where bloody cuts become visible on his body. Controlled by an animatronic system, Kong is a fucking impressive sight on stage.
However, Kong is also controlled onstage by ten crew members. I feel like a dick saying this, because their presence is necessary, but I’m not imaginative enough to ignore them. Maybe it’s a curiosity thing, trying to figure out which string pulls which limb, but it’s almost impossible to feel lost in the illusion of performance when you can see a human move Kong’s arm. The director, Daniel Kramer, approached this issue not by attempting to hide their presence. Rather, he gave them a special Zorro-esque ninja costume, irrelevant to both the setting and era of the play.
Composed and arranged by Marius de Vries, with contributions from Massive Attack’s 3D, Justice, The Avalanches (their cover of Get Happy was a highlight) and more, as a musical it featured enough catchy tunes and extravagant choreography to please. The opening number was also particularly impressive, with elaborate and beautiful 1930s costumes designed by Roger Kirk (there were over 500 costumes in King Kong). Adam Lyon, in the role of Carl Denham, sang brilliantly and gave a rare emotive performance amongst a cast that gave decent-but-not-brilliant performances.
The stage design, by Peter England, was also world class. Except for one instance. And I need this answered by someone involved in King Kong: when they visit the freaky cult at Skull Island, why are there massive condoms hanging from the ceiling? What were you aiming to make these weird, murkily transparent, floppy cylinders look like?
It doesn’t matter. The film industry has for years thrived on hiding any flaws with spectacular effects. And, for the first time in memory, King Kong has brought this sensory awe to the stage.
