REVIEW: DANI’S INFERNO at Jack Studio Theatre 3 - 4 Sept & Bridge House Theatre 5 Sept

“An engaging, fast paced existential musical comedy that leaves you wanting more” ★★★★

Dani’s Inferno is a one-woman musical comedy, written and performed by Charlotte Eyres, centring on a party during a flood of Biblical proportions causing destruction to London and its infrastructure. London is flooding with buildings collapsing and lifeboats being swarmed. Our central protagonist Dani’s benevolence in going house to house warning her neighbours rather than seeking safety is endearing. The opening song draws the audience in by discussing briefly what has happened and what the future holds. The song being humourous and referential sets the tone for the rest of the musical, (with the rest of the songs throughout perfectly balancing out the plot).

With her neighbour needing little convincing, Dani gains entrance to the party where everyone is more concerned with spliffs and Smirnoff than storms and surging waves. Many in attendance have an attitude of complaining while carrying on as if everything is fine around them…while, quite literally, London Bridge is falling down (how very British).

As the story progresses, the collective of various characters at the party help Dani succumb to staying rather than her trying to convince them to leave as they have no urgency to do so. One factor that persuades Dani is a man called Vincent, who seems indifferent about the impending doom. Over the course of the story, she gains a crush on him and labels him her “Romeo”. A balcony scene, (perhaps utilising a voiceover), invoking Shakespeare’s tragic tale of two lovers wouldn’t have felt too far-fetched considering the looming threat that was heading towards them.

Dani and the characters at the party bring up convincing arguments about climate change, with some considering the flood as a matter of time, others suggesting how we’ve all neglected the environment in some way shape or form, some trying to embrace their hedonism and others indulging in materialism with the suggestion that the relinquishment of responsibilities means they’re truly free and not restricted by arbitrary rules that bind them.

The selection of songs were well written original compositions, covering everything it meant to be a Londoner. From train delays and pub culture to complaining…about complaining. Eyres puts her own comedic spin on the things covered in her songs. Pondering on the enormity of the apocalyptic incident sweeping across the Capital in relation to the miniscule things being complained about, helped to highlight the things we take for granted. Eyes’ singing ability was strong and captivating.

Eyes was able to perfectly embody multiple quirky characters at the party and have the audience laughing, immersed and transfixed on each new character presented. They were each unique and never felt jarring or distracting when introduced. I enjoyed the hilarious parody of a narcissistic American socialite at the party. Lines that particularly highlighted this were “Noah’s Ark. I’ve seen this before…it’s AI” and “Hi is this The UN? How much do you charge for humanitarian social media posts? My rate is now $10,000”. I was particularly impressed with her American accent as not once did her singing in the accent waver.

The minimalistic use of props being a microphone/microphone stand, a chair, a water bottle and opening (then promptly downing), a can of beer helped with immersing the audience. It helped the setting of the house party at the end of the world feel bleaker as if the neighbour has got rid of all the furniture and decided to throw a continuous party. The costume being black overalls helps Dani blend into the stage, almost as if the environment is engulfing her whilst she is trying to stay afloat (no pun intended). The costume shows how resourceful Dani’s character is, with one character commenting “Going fishing are we?”

Technical aspects, I would like to highlight how well the lighting and sound technicians worked in tandem with the plot and scenes. The soundtrack being a mix of background noise for the party scenes helped to set the scene, the instrumental accompanying Eyes’ singing blended well rather than drowning her out, the balance of not overusing too much sound helped the jokes land as well as allowing the silence to carry the wight of the situation and give the audience breathing room after each song. The lighting worked well to give the audience a sense of dread constantly creeping in throughout the story.  

Eyres is a triple threat who everyone should look out for in the future as she has a lot of potential. Being able to write, sing and act in a one woman show that is poignant, thought provoking, urgent and captivating at a brisk pace of 60 minutes whilst leaving the audience wanting more and the ending being left up to interpretation is extremely impressive.

I would have loved for the opening scene in which Dani tries to enter the party to be a voiceover between herself and the neighbour’s house party which she is trying to gain entrance into as it would have helped set the scene.

The show deserves to be shown on a bigger stage, and I hope it is able to come back for a longer run. I would encourage audiences to flock to see the show as it feels fresh and is a lot of fun to see.

Tuesday 3^rd September- Thursday 5^th September  2024- 7.30 pm at Bridge House Theatre

Performer: Charlotte Eyres

Writer: Charlotte Eyres

https://thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/danis-inferno/

Charlotte Eyres Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlotteleyres/?hl=en

Reviewer Bio:

Emeka Diamond is a published poet, producer, actor and playwright.