Theme parks aren’t for everyone. But Fantasy World Adventure Mega Park (FWAMP) is a crazy adventure you wouldn’t want to miss!
A park CEO that wants to be a mascot, a rocky love story and hilariously crude humour, this new musical comedy has it all.
It tells the story of Teddy Mega who, after the death of his father, must take his place as the CEO of FWAMP! However, his dream to become the new park mascot hangs in the balance and has
ruffled a few staff feathers!
With this unique synopsis in mind, I headed to the University of Leeds campus to attend the show at Stage@Leeds.
Walking into the theatre was an experience in itself! To be eagerly greeted with grins and giggles by the theme park “staff” was a perfect, immersive entrance to the performance. It truly set the upbeat tone of the story, and to be welcomed in by Charlotte Farthing as the powerhouse character, ‘Susan Mega’ was the cherry on top.
Starting the show, we were treated to a dance number, the title song that admirably set off a series of laughs through the audience. With Abbie Freeston and Matthew Stanley directing and fulfilling their vision of bringing joy back to a grim world, they certainly crafted a dazzling opening tune that
stayed stuck in my head for days!
Including a moderate cast of 14, each person had their time to shine, and an assigned character. With Henry Marshall as ‘Teddy’ and Lilian Sztankov as ‘Pippa’, watching their tangled-up love story unfold was a rollercoaster of emotions and provided a tender element to an otherwise comedic show.
As the tale unravelled, we were introduced to a series of memorable characters. A personal favourite of mine was ‘Jason’, played by David Bygraves, his joyous attitude and tendency to take things too far crafting an hilarious charm to the musical. His ability to jump into each song and add his own amusing twist was undeniably hilarious! Having energy is vital to a comedic performance and Bygraves ensured his character had heaps.
Although each character had their own style of humour, Gee Case Watson’s character ‘Barb’ had classic, British sarcasm down to a tee. To witness her giving ‘Teddy’ a hard time for his attitude towards his role as CEO and lack of care for ‘Pippa’ was a moment made for applause! Watson’s characterisation skills brightly shone through in ‘Barb’, a truly impressive performance.
To round off a stunning main cast, we had Elena Lacy as ‘Charlie’. As a down-to-earth character, she was a perfect contrast to the other giddy personalities within the musical! It was clear Lacy had studied ‘Charlie’ in detail and had a vision of how she should be represented. Being able to understand how a character reacts to their environment is a true skill and Lacy doesn’t fall short of it!
A musical comedy wouldn’t be a musical comedy without an ensemble to accompany it. FWAMP’s ensemble did a phenomenal job during the musical numbers. The dance skills of the cast were incredible – with their ability to stay on beat and keep in time, the choreography was a joy to watch! With Abbie Freeston as choreographer and Rhys Rogers as dance captain, the performances never fell short of brilliant.
Watching FWAMP is a great experience outside of the West-End, with its crude humour and intriguing storyline. The uniqueness of FWAMP is something I would recommend to anyone. I could easily see this show being performed in many universities and my applause goes out to the hard-working cast and crew!
