Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Birmingham Hippodrome, 16 October 2025, until 16 November 2025, then touring, 5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

Photo Credit: Matt Crockett.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Birmingham Hippodrome, 16 October 2025, until 16 November 2025, then touring,

5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

“A thrilling, exhilarating and lavish new take on the jukebox musical.”

Just as Baz Luhrmann’s film created a fresh new perspective on the screen version of this musical, so too this theatrical realisation of the same story. Indeed, this superb stage production does something bold, new and radical. Much of the radicalism comes from the irreverence and flexibility with which the score treats the songs. The music is there to serve the drama and not the other way round, which is so often the case with some other, rather tired ‘jukebox musicals’.

Thus, if a verse, a fragment, or often even a single line, is sufficient to move the story on, or to heighten an emotion, or spotlight a nuance, it does so. The effect is initially bewildering, disorientating and occasionally frustrating; we are used to hearing songs with which we are familiar, or perhaps even fond of, played through to their satisfying conclusion. But once the ear adjusts to this new dispensation, we can appreciate its dynamic narrative potential.

The first act, in particular, abounds with big numbers which, in the manner of a dance floor DJ, collide a number of songs over a shared harmonic framework, perhaps in the way an opera composer might fuse the thematic material of a number of characters & musical ideas into an integrated ensemble. And if the effect is operatic, this is really very appropriate; the story is, after all, a gloss on Puccini’s opera, La Boheme.

This compositional device complements the comic slant of the opening act, with its twisty plot and farcical mood. The second act is more measured as the inevitable tragedy of the story unfolds. Here we are given some “big numbers” in their entirety. Again, there is an operatic feel; the songs are treated almost like arias. This works well in the dramatic context.

The story’s conclusion (spoiler, our heroine dies!) is treated with admirable economy and simplicity. And the effect is so much more moving for this being so.

The show, therefore, represents an exemplary piece of a fully integrated, music theatre story telling. As you might imagine, the staging is lavish, and it perfectly captures the decadence of the period by being neither too coy nor too in-your-face about it. The slick, salty, sexy choreography is a big part of this success. And it is very sexy!

The cast simply cannot be faulted. The acting of leads, Verity Thompson and Nate Landskroner, give us the feeling of emotional truth, and the power and quality of their singing sometimes takes one’s breath away. Cover, Josh Rose, is all sex appeal, and tantalisingly dangerous as the despicable Duke.

A show not to be missed; inventive, energetic and, if it’s not particularly new or thought-provoking in its core massage, it certainly packs a massive emotional punch. This is an outstanding production of the very highest quality.

Cast

Satine – Verity Thompson

Christian – Nate Landskroner

Harold Zidler – Cameron Blakely

Toulouse-Lautrec – Kurt Kansley

The Duke – Josh Rose (Cover)

Santiago – Rodrigo Negrini

Nini – Kahlia Davis

Arabia – Summer Priest

Baby Doll – Scott Sutcliffe

La Chocolat – Ellie Jane Grant

Creatives

Book – John Logan

Director – Alex Timbers

Choreographer – Sonya Tayeh

Music Supervisor – Justin Levine

Scenic Designer – Derek McLane

Costumes – Catherine Zuber

Lighting – Justin Townsend

Sound – Peter Hylenski