On Tuesday, I was (figuratively) whisked away to the Southern United States, for a breath of corn filled air, with Shucked, a new musical, having its UK debut at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. I’d never been to this venue before, and maybe I was just high on sunlight and birdsong, but I was already grinning before a single note played.
Designer Scott Pask’s set was gorgeous: an enormous, tilted wooden barn, stunningly detailed and totally at home in the dappled light. It’s a bit skew-whiff, a bit storybook, with curved staging that comes out quite far, making for a very large performance space. There’s corn lining both sides. A wall of corn (narratively relevant). And nestled in that corn? Giant purple rocks. More on that later!
Two storytellers step onstage – one fabulously camp (Steven Webb), the other just fabulous (Monique Ashe-Palmer) – and they tee us up for a “farm-to-fable” tale about love, lies, and a wall of corn. We learn about the tiny town of Cob that’s completely obsessed with corn. Corn on their clothes, corn in their hearts, corn in their liquor, corn around the town like a giant vegetable forcefield. Nobody leaves. Nobody even considers leaving.
Until the corn starts dying. And Maizy (Sophie McShera, earnest and strong voiced) decides she’s got to go beyond the wall to save her town. The townsfolk, including Maizy’s fiancé Beau (Ben Joyce), who thinks it’s his job, as the tough man, to fix things – you know the type of douche – don’t want her to leave, but Maizy’s off to Tampa, Florida with a bracelet full of sparkly purple rocks and a stubborn belief that she can fix the mystery of the corn.
As the stakes are laid out – a dying natural resource, a girl determined to fix it, a town that says “you can’t leave” – my wife and I looked at each other and mouthed in unison: Moana. Yes, it’s Moana – but with corn!
What follows is a gloriously daft romp, packed with foot-tapping numbers, dad jokes on steroids, and a surprising amount of heart. I mean, there’s a lot of terrible jokes: “like the lazy dentist said: brace yourself.” That’s one of them! At first I was groaning. Then I was sniggering. Then I was howling.
The musical numbers kick off with a big, bold, joyous celebration of all things corn – called ‘Corn’, shockingly – danced and sung by the whole town. It’s catchy, silly, and sets the tone perfectly, complete with some brief corn-banging choreography that gave me flashbacks to the beer mug routine from Beauty and the Beast.
Next up, was Maizy’s big number, ‘Walls’, about how things aren’t going well etc. Although Sophie McShera’s performance was beautiful, the song felt like a bit of a gear shift. The energy dropped, and I found myself struggling to connect with it. I admit that this may have been influenced by it being broad daylight and my ADHD distraction level being pretty high – with pigeons flying around and a lot of people between me and the stage. If you’re easily distracted and can manage it, I’d recommend sitting as far forward as you can.
Although I wasn’t loving ‘Walls’, soon our plucky heroine is off to find the corn cure, and is singing ‘Travelin’ Song’, which is gloriously silly, with lines like “everything is beautiful in Tampa… it’s a bleach and platinum blonde extravaganza!” And I was right back in the mood, tapping my feet and loving every minute.
In Tampa, Maizy encounters Gordy Jackson, a shady podiatrist (his sign says ‘Corn Doctor’) with a gambling problem who sees her sparkly bracelet and sniffs an opportunity. Matthew Seadon-Young is brilliant in the role – slick, shifty, and just the right amount of charming. Gordy’s arrival back in Cob stirs up plenty of drama and adds a welcome twist to the tale – and Seadon-Young delivers it with great comic flair and just enough smarm to make you love to hate/pity him.
In a show full of wonderful singers and toe-tapping songs, a real standout for me was Georgina Onuorah, playing Lulu – Maizy’s cousin. She sings a song in the second half called ‘Independently Owned’, which was an absolute banger and brought the house down. Her voice is so strong and her character so full of southern sass, which makes for a seriously winning combination.
Onuorah gets another standout moment later in the show, teaming up with McShera for the heartfelt duet ‘Friends’. Their bond feels genuine, and when they sing the chorus: “I have to call you family, but I get to call you friend“, I was beaming from ear to ear. Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally may write songs that are a little corny (sorry, I had to, I don’t make the rules) but some of their lyrics are pure perfection.
Keith Ramsay as Peanut is probably the biggest scene-stealer of the show. A sweet, slow Forrest Gump sounding character who drops killer one-liners with deadpan perfection. “Politicians and diapers should be changed regularly – for the same reason.” Joke after joke, some of which had the audience in absolute stitches. And every time you think he’s peaked, he hits you with another one.
Ben Joyce’s Beau gets a whole redemption arc after a bit of a dickish start, and while I wasn’t convinced Beau entirely earned his redemption, Joyce’s vocal performance was very impressive. Singing his ‘poor me, aren’t I the victim’ song, ‘Somebody Will’, he would’ve blown the roof off the theatre, if there had been one in the first place!
The ensemble numbers are such a treat. As well as the big opener, there’s a rollicking barrel-top choreography sequence in ‘Best Man Wins’ (bravo Sarah O’Gleby, choreographer), followed closely by a montage of drinking and singing which fits about five songs into one, with more fabulous dancing (and falling over).
The set does a lot with very few moving parts: barrels, planks, a few rolling platforms. One platform turns around to become the back of a truck. The barn’s slatted roof lets the lights and smoke dance through in the second half, and it all just works. Props to the lighting designer, Japhy Weideman.
Have I said enough about the storytellers? Ashe-Palmer and Webb are delightful, talking directly to the audience with irresistible Southern charm. Webb even jumps into an ensemble number at one point, trying to blend in with a comical hick accent, which is hilarious. The final reveal about who they are? Utterly charming. No spoilers, but it left me with a lump in my throat and a slightly wet face.
The show is supposedly rated 8+ but given there’s a whole song called ‘Holy Shit’, and they say the phrase a lot, I’d advise parental discretion on that one. Maybe think of it like a 12a movie – 12+ is fine, under is really down to the parents.
Ultimately, Shucked is a heartfelt delight. It’s about believing in yourself, questioning what you’ve been told, choosing your people, and yes, loving corn (oh, and whisky). You’ll laugh, you’ll tap your foot, and you’ll probably leave with a Southern drawl and a desperate urge to bedazzle a pair of dungarees whilst gnawing on a corn dog.
Shucked is playing at the Regents Park Open Air theatre until 14th June.
Book your tickets at theatreticketsdirect.co.uk
Words by Nick Barr
Photography Pamela Raith
