Rupert Goold's slick and shiny revival of Bret Easton Ellis's disturbing satire, American Psycho, has returned to the stage at London's Almeida Theatre after more than a decade, marking a grim yet stylish addition to the city's theatrical landscape.
A Jarringly Stylish Crime Scene
The production opens with a striking image: two bloodied female bodies draped over a sofa, their elegantly stockinged legs twitching disconcertingly to a pulsing electronic score. This scene sets the tone for what is arguably the grimmest musical to darken London's stages in years, blending fashion show aesthetics with abattoir-like horror to create a powerful cognitive dissonance.
Retro Numbers and High Sheen
Featuring retro numbers by Duncan Sheik, known for Spring Awakening, this adaptation first bewildered and thrilled audiences twelve years ago. Now, under Goold's direction as artistic director, it returns with undeniable style, smoothing away the novel's rough edges and replacing them with a high surface sheen.
Superstar designer Es Devlin, who went on to design stages for Beyoncé after her initial work on American Psycho, elevates the ambition here. She transforms the Almeida into a glitzy, minimal evocation of a fashionable 1980s New York nightclub, complete with a vast LED floor that serves as a catwalk for a gorgeously attired cast, enhanced by flashes of distorted video and strobe light.
An Unlikely Protagonist
The only element that isn't slick and shiny in this production is its protagonist, Patrick Bateman, portrayed by Arty Froushan. Froushan delivers a gawky, surprisingly likeable take on the Wall Street banker-cum-killer, with a perpetually rumpled suit drenched in sweat from his desperate attempts to keep up with fickle trends in business cards and dining establishments.
His inner monologue is played for laughs, eliciting knowing chuckles from the audience as he brags about his top-of-the-range Toshiba TV or boasts of eating repulsive-sounding dishes like sashimi with goat's cheese. In a prescient episode from the original novel, his encounter with Trump in a lift turns him into a blushing fanboy, highlighting how aspiration can look so cringe.
Supporting Characters and Themes
Bateman's rivalry with the suave Paul Owen, played by Daniel Bravo, and his obsessions with his saintly secretary Christine, portrayed by Hannah Yun Chamberlain, and his girlfriend Evelyn, played by an engagingly nervy Emily Barber, add layers to the narrative. Barber's character hilariously overlooks his emergent murderous tendencies in pursuit of material gains, underscoring the show's satirical edge.
Musical and Choreographic Elements
Goold's production skates the edge of 1980s kitsch, with Sheik's songs sometimes tipping into it. The score covers key themes like fashion, business cards, and the Hamptons through glib little numbers, lacking the psychological richness of Spring Awakening. However, gorgeous new arrangements of 1980s bangers from Bateman's Walkman playlist, such as 'In The Air Tonight', heighten the mood by bringing out the lightly buried menace in Phil Collins's song.
In the second act, Sheik's score belatedly bares its dark heart with tracks like the video game-style bleeps of "Killing Spree", the spine-tingling liturgical harmonies of "Clean", and the brooding nihilism of torch song finale "This Is Not An Exit". Lynne Page's stellar choreography turns murder scenes into journeys through fantastical psychological landscapes, shaped by mounds of writhing bodies.
Ambiguous Endings and Impact
The show's dream-like feel, coupled with the likability of its protagonist, makes the ending land a bit strangely. It raises questions about whether Bateman's violent misogynist fantasies are an understandable response to late capitalism's pains, though it's clear the women in the show bear the brunt of his actions.
Despite an uncertain message, the impact of American Psycho is undeniable. It doesn't look or sound like any other musical in London, offering an entrancing, icy injection of nihilism into a remorselessly peppy genre. The production runs at the Almeida Theatre until 14 March, providing a unique theatrical experience for audiences.
