Is there any subject that should be taboo? Stopping it from being turned into a musical theatre production? If I’m honest, then I would probably have said, “Yes, there are red lines on subjects I feel appropriate for the MT treatment”. But why? Is it just the possibility of a show jumping over the line from daring to challenge sensitive orthodoxies to being tacky and tasteless? Well, I’ve had my own lines challenged as Chris Burgess presents as Supersonic Man, his new show about people coping with a degenerative and ultimately fatal disease gets its debut at Southwark Playhouse Borough.
Adam (Dylan Aiello) and his partner Darryl (Dominic Sullivan) are living their best life. They live in Brighton and happily indulge in the shade of hedonism the town can give a young gay couple. When not partying, they travel and seem to have pretty much slept their way around the world. They have many close friends, especially Ruth (Jude St James) and Shaz (Mali Wen Davies), and have recently made a new one in the shape of Ben (James Lowrie) and, let’s be honest, life couldn’t be better for the two boys. Then one day, something goes wrong with Adam’s toes. While he is pretty willing to shrug his shoulders and get on, Darryl gets him to the doctors, and then to the hospital for tests. Then Adam’s world falls about his ears as he receives the diagnosis that he has Motor Neuron Disease or MND. To the shock of both men, the doctor explains what is going to happen to Adam. How his muscles will top working, and he will lose all control of his body while his mind stays clear and active, and then finally how MND will take him to his grave. Adam moves quickly into the seven stages of grief, but before getting to the final one – Acceptance – decides that he will not give in and will instead become a human cyborg using everything modern technology can provide to keep him mobile and functioning right up until the end.
From my comments in the first paragraph, you will guess that I had a certain trepidation about seeing Supersonic Man. But my worries were quickly blown away. Not only was the show loosely based on the life Peter Scott Morgan, who was featured in the 2020 Channel Four documentary Peter: The Human Cyborg – which followed his journey to conquer motor neurone disease by use of robotics, radical surgery and AI technology, but I was also developed with the assistance of the MND Association. And Chris Burgess has put together a fascinating show that addresses many issues in a sympathetic and entertaining way that affected me in a surprising way. While primarily Adam’s story, I found myself really drawn to Darryl’s side of things. If I were in Adam’s shoes, I think I would just be my normal “it is what it is” pragmatic self. But I don’t think I could have been as supportive and comforting as Darryl. There is a point in the show where Adam pretty much gives Darryl permission to leave him and get on with his life and I’ve spent a lot of time since seeing the show wondering what I would have done at that point. This is such wonderful writing, and I really think Burgess should be celebrated for not taking the easy way out for any of the characters and for making the two leads absolutely believable as a couple on paper.
However, for the show to work, that believability has to transfer through the actors to the performance and Dylan Aiello and Dominic Sullivan as Adam and Darryl, respectively, really pull off something special in their delivery. It is so easy to imagine the two of them as a couple. It’s there not just in the words but in little moments, small gestures and looks between them that proclaim their relationship to the world. Aiello gives us an Adam who loves life and will not, no matter how inevitable, let MND destroy him. He is strong, determined and, at moments, a scared little boy who knows what is happening and is scared of the future. Sullivan’s Daryl is the sensible Geography teacher who thinks giving someone Stephen Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time is a great way to start accepting things. But he is also a man in love and who has to hide his own fear and emotions and support his man, even when he is shouted at and abused. Two stunning individual performances that are truly superb when put together.
Supporting them are Jude St James, James Lowrie and Mali Wen Davies – Davies making her theatrical debut in fine style. The three of them not only play their main roles – mentioned above – but everyone else, including doctors, nurses, a television crew, and all the other people Adam and Darryl encounter in their journey through MND. All three are first-rate and bring so much to each character they play.
Chris Burgess directs as well as writes and this is something I normally frown upon. I often think sometimes a show needs an outside eye looking at the direction to tighten up the narrative of the performance and I think this is one of those moments. However, the direction does work well. David Shields’ set is jolly and happy with a lovely ‘Welcome to Brighton’ Backdrop and the bench on which Adam and Daryll first met on the pier, and leaves lots of space for the rest of the action. I haven’t really mentioned the music, but there are some really first-rate songs in the show, particularly the highly emotional ‘What A Life We Live’ which had me sniffling in my handkerchief.
Overall, Supersonic Man is a great piece of musical theatre. Really well written, produced and performed, the show works on many levels. Whilst I think it would have been better without an interval, and do wonder if the TV production company and crew would still have remained as cold and cynical as they followed Adam’s story, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish and will be first in line to purchase a cast recording if one comes out.
Whilst covering a cataclysmic event in the life of two pretty ordinary guys, Supersonic Man does so with humour, style and grace. Never maudlin and always entertaining, this is a show with real potential to go onwards and upwards.
Review by Terry Eastham
“So – you’re becoming a cyborg?”
Fun-loving influencer Adam and the love of his life, Darryl, are young and carefree. But life is about to throw them a curveball.
This joyous and moving new musical set amidst the LGBTQI+ community of Brighton, makes it UK premiere, asking how we find new ways to survive and love when faced with cataclysm.
Inspired by the true-life story of Peter Scott-Morgan, as depicted in the Channel Four documentary ‘Peter – The Human Cyborg’, Supersonic Man follows Adam’s mission to challenge a terminal diagnosis in the only way he can imagine – he’s going to become a human cyborg.
Dylan Aiello – Adam
James Lowrie – Ben
Jude St James – Ruth
Dominic Sullivan – Darryl
Mali Wen Davies – Shaz
Chris Burgess – Writer/Director
Aaron Clingham – Musical Director
Steven Edis – Musical Arranger
Philip Joel – Choreographer
David Shields – Designer
Richard Lambert – Lighting Designer
Angie Lawrence – Production Assistant
Kevin Wilson – Press and Publicity
LAMBCO Productions presents
SUPERSONIC MAN
Southwark Playhouse Borough
9 April to 3 May 2025
