Ride the Cyclone at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant Review – 3 and 1/2 stars

The cult classical musical has crashed into the Southwark Playhouse Elephant and promises a darkly comedic 90-minute spectacle. 

Photo by Danny Kaan

Words by Kate South

Ride the Cyclone is a Canadian cult classic musical that first premiered in 2009. It tells the story of six teenagers, members of the St Cassian Chamber Choir, who tragically die when the Cyclone roller coaster malfunctions, causing their cart to derail and crash. A magical fortune telling machine, The Amazing Karnak, then holds a competition in the afterlife with the grand prize of a second chance of life for one of the teenagers, before he himself dies as a bass playing rat called Virgil chews through his power cable, killing them both. Simple! Think SIX (which this musical predates), but the competition is real. Since its premiere, the musical has been through many revivals, rewrites and re-stagings, with this production at the Southwark Playhouse marking its European debut. Directed and choreographed by Lizzie Gee, this production has all the highs, lows, twists and turns you’d expect from a musical based on a roller coaster crash.

The most notable aspect of the production is the cast’s incredibly high standard. Every single performer was a true triple threat. None of the musical numbers is an easy sing, but the music across the board was sung and played to an exceptionally high standard, led by the show’s music director and pianist Ben McQuigg. Despite the challenging score, Gee pulls no punches with the intensity of the choreography, and the cast absolutely rose to the challenge. I was out of breath watching them! A particular standout performer was Bartek Kraszewski, who played Mischa. I could not believe it was his professional debut, and the break-dance solo toward the end of his number was indicative of his physical and vocal stamina. A shout out also has to go to Nathenial Purnell, who stepped into the role of Ricky the night I attended and was polished, professional and endearing. 

However, despite the incredibly high standard of performance across the cast, the tickets my friend and I bought were restricted view. However, this was not advertised or reflected in the price of the ticket. I don’t mind buying restricted-view tickets as long as it’s clearly stated, especially in this economy. Instead, I couldn’t help but feel shortchanged when some of the visual effects of the songs were obstructed, particularly the various projections used on curtains draped at the back of the stage. Oftentimes, performers would stop dead in front of you, blocking the view of other characters. ‘Jane Doe’, portrayed expertly by the supremely talented Grace Galloway, was unable to be identified due to her head being decapitated from her body in the crash. To reflect this, an innovative visual effect of her head floating above her body was employed during the fan favourite number “The Ballad of Jane Doe”. The effect took place in the space upstage behind the curtain, which could not be clearly seen from the sides. To get the full effect of the staging, the show has to be viewed from the front section, rather than the seats available at the sides. Perhaps the view was better on the balcony, but from our seats on the ground level, (A4 and A5), the view was not ideal.

The biggest obstruction was a piece of set covering the immobile Karanak, whom I could not see for almost the entire show, despite Edward Wu’s best efforts to lean over his balcony to engage the audience at the venue’s sides. It would seem the whole cast was made aware of these obstructions, as a lot of audience participation occurred with those in the front row. Personally, I loved this. It really made you feel engaged with the dream world of the musical numbers, which were a visual sensation. The only times it didn’t work as well were during the scenes between songs, where the whole point is that they are alone with each other, a la Sartre’s No Exit, something emphasised in the script. However, those less familiar with the show are probably not going to pick up on this nuance, and I do not think the average theatre goer would mind. 

Despite the staging not quite working from the sides, the show was such a spectacle that I can only imagine how fabulous it looked from the front. The stage itself, consisting of a raised platform and a revolve, made use of the limited space imaginatively, with various rolled-in set pieces and boxes full of props helping to create the various dream worlds of each character’s songs, from an intergalactic cat-inhabited planet to post-war France. I won’t spoil the production too much, but there were moments so funny, or so visually absurd, that I was utterly won over. It was clear that the entire audience and cast were both having a blast. 

Despite the restricted view, one thing I will say is that the staging would lend itself perfectly to a more traditional theatre. Due to the immensely positive critical and commercial response to the production, I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets picked up for a national tour. I would gladly see the show again, this time facing the action head on, and I would encourage anyone curious about this 90 minute musical to do the same. Meeting the challenge of the small capacity venue with a cast of West End worthy performers, I highly recommend seeing this production if you get the chance. It’s quite the ride!

Ride the Cyclone is playing at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant until the 10th January 2026.

Photos by Danny Kaan