Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles and the whole demon-busting Scooby gang are back together once again, but this time, they’re all in the body of one man…
No, this isn’t another of the infamously bizarre and mind-bending storylines that cult-classic teen drama/horror/rom-com Buffy was known for; It’s actually a one-man-show, brought to you by the unimaginably eccentric mind of Edinburgh Fringe favourite and comedic genius Brendan Murphy.
Yes, this is the same weird and wonderful brain that brought us FRIEND (The One with Gunther), but this time, he’s back with with his fang-in-cheek take on everyone’s favourite vampire-slaying smash-hit show, and it is hilarious.
I’m talking, stab-you-in-the-heart, bite-you-in-the-neck, laugh-till-you-die, hilarious, and the Aberdeen audience was living for it.
Everyone’s favourite baddie Spike swapped sultry for slapstick in Buffy Revamped
Embodying a larger-than-life incarnation of everyone’s favourite bleached-blonde baddie, Spike – who at times was a little less mysterious and moody, and a little more Rodney from Only Fools and Horses – we were transported back to 1997 Sunnydale High, to retell the story through his scathing eyes.
In a seemingly impossible task, that quite frankly I’m not sure why anyone would willingly choose to take on, Murphy brings the entire seven seasons – that’s 144 episodes – back to life in 70 minutes of pure, unadulterated, parodical brilliance.
For a man that’s been dead for 180 years, ‘Spike’ leaps and bounds from one character to the next with ridiculously low budget costume changes and props (arch enemy and goody-two-shoes vamp Angel isn’t dignified with anything more than a leather coat) with unfathomable energy.
On a stage comprised of not much more than a stack of books in one corner, a high school locker in the other, and a big screen in the middle, which will later come in handy for some side-splitting explainer moments, Murphy uses not much more than a painstakingly sharp witted script, some clever lighting and sounds, and an array of bad wigs to bring his deranged vision to life. And boy does it work.
The audience loved every minute of the 90s nostalgia-fest
It may have been 20 years since I have actually watched an episode of Buffy, but each and every vampire-bat-crazy, hellhound destroying plotline burst back to mind instantaneously as the bemused audience is hurled from season to season in a speed-of-light laugh-fest.
Pierced with perfectly timed musical numbers and 90’s blast from the past moments, leaving no ridiculously overacted character safe from the sharp tongue and even sharper wit of Murphy/Spike (the lines blur sometimes), Buffy Revamped is the perfect dose of nostalgic mind-boggling escapism that no-one asked for, but everyone needed
I for one, loved every jam-packed, truly ludicrous moment.
In the immortal words of our ‘Spike’, “It’ll take more than the destruction of a Hellmouth to get rid of this geezer,” and right he is, as the tour continues throughout the UK.
Find tickets here.
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