Review: SPRAYWATCH - TheSpace @ Niddry Street (12/08/26)

Musical parody of 90s lifeguard culture is brilliantly bonkers

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Let me take you back 30 years, to a time when coastal California lifeguards were sexy, clad all in red, and could run comedically slowly for the purposes of budget-friendly filler. Yes, brand new theatre company Low Fat Productions have taken the 1990s cultural phenomenon "Baywatch", added original music, and set the action in an indeterminate English seaside town, building sets out of deck chairs and towels, the result of which is a quite ingenious new spoof musical

We first kick things off in Santa Monica, and one of the highest rated beaches in the world; they save lives, keep in perfect shape, and run slowly better than any other lifeguard team. Everything is seemingly unflappable, until one of their numbers is discovered to be sporting (shock, horror!) visible cellulite! This causes her to become a pariah among her colleagues, as she is ultimately fired, and ends up washing up in the dreary British seaside town of Spray, where the dismal, deserted beach has been closed for a number of years, and is way down the bottom of the rankings. It's now the job of our glamorous L. A. import to whip this team into shape, and reinvigorate the town...however it soon becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.

The company of "Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue" (credit: Derek Stuart Cole)

Writer and director Hywel Evans has managed to hit a perfect balance of the show being both fully narratively engaging and chock full of charm and barminess, and it is exceedingly self-aware about just how outrageously silly it is, and often pokes fun at its own low-budget design, joking regularly about the lack of doors, one of the characters holding down about 20 different jobs, and even being self-aware enough to address the fact that each character has a different accent in order to represent the range of British seaside towns decimated by Thatcher's government in the 1980s, maintaining the vagueness of Spray's actual indeterminate location.

It's these smaller details that add so much to the already considerable charm and distinct humour palate, but more than anything, in addition to its up-beat 90s soundtrack, what keeps us hooked is the considerable comic acting abilities, and mostly polished vocals on display across the board. Leading the charge as the excessively peppy lifeguard is Izabella Webb, who brilliantly satirises the US television leads of years gone by, in a top tier comic performance of boundless energy, enthusiasm and charisma. The yang to her yin is undoubtedly Abbie Ashall as dour Scottish realist Rose, whose dry, sardonic humour palate balances perfectly with her American counterpart.

The company of "Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue" (credit: Derek Stuart Cole)

Natalie Hayes as Geordie jack of all trades Denise always provides the laughs, popping up as a police officer, beauty technician, taxi driver and news reporter among others, whilst principal villain Victor is taken on Jamie Knapper, giving us just the right amount of charisma to keep us endeared to him, whilst his character sows the seeds of dissension throughout to divert attention away from his own more nefarious end. Completing the lineup is Ant McGinley as Fred, often paired with Rose in discussion (though it is quickly clarified they aren't "that" Fred and Rose), and thhis critic does love a good bit of dark humour. He quickly charms us with his adorkable Shakespearean turns of phrase, and how candidly he speaks about his own doubts and insecurities, a real big lad with an even bigger heart, which McGinley fully wears on his sleeve.

"Spraywatch", in many ways, represents the very best of fringe theatre, managing to come up with a full hour long musical on a shoestring budget, and not only having the audience in uproarious laughter throughout, but keeping us on tenterhooks as to where the story is going right until the end. It wasn't always plain sailing, there were some rough waves along the way, with one or two jokes feeling a touch over-egged, however this is undoubtedly one of the most brilliantly wacky new shows of this year's festival, in a marvellous debut for Low Fat Productions. If this is the bar they have set this early on, I am terrifically excited to see what they come up with next.

★★★★☆ (4*)

"Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue" plays at various times (excl. 16/08) at theSpace @ Niddry Street until the 29th of August (tickets)

{PR/Gifted Tickets}