Review :: American Psycho The Musical

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've been looking forward to watching this for MONTHS. Following a near miss when it looked like all tickets had sold out, I managed to bag two second-row tickets (for an absolute steal at the under-30's price of £16), during the show's last week at the Almeida Theatre.

I've always been a big fan of American Psycho the film, but really couldn't get into the book, so I was intrigued to see whether the musical would interest me enough. And, for the most part, it really really does. Matt Smith shines as Patrick Bateman, delivering a great performance despite his slightly grating accent. Yet it's the supporting cast that really carry the show - their voices are incredible. 

The story sticks fairly faithfully to the same plotline as the movie, with a few nods and recognisable lines added in as obvious nods. Yet it's the songs that really bring the production to life; a mixture of 80s electro-pop and new numbers written for the show, they deliver just the right amount of neon, tempo and humour.

The show itself is actually fairly light on gore, with the various hacking scenes protrayed with red lighting rather than blood. Sex is also filtered - the famous threesome scene is cut down significantly, with no sign of Patrick's camcorder or biceps (the latter being a big shame). Strangely, the plot also seems to linger a little too much on the slightly mundane - a trip to the Hamptons is transformed into a full on song and dance, whilst the coke-snorting club scene seems to go on forever (and ever, and ever). I did find myself getting a tiny bit bored during these times, but this was more than made up for by the other 90% of the show.

Would I go again? In a heartbeat.