The Human Centipede Parody Musical is a Horrifying yet Hilarious time that knows how to poke fun at itself, the source material and the audience. Liam Hartley and Oliver Catton take us on a journey that follows the disturbing goals of Dr. Heiter (Beau Wykes) to create a ‘Human Centipede’ from three people. Heiter sets his sights on Lindsay (Rae Rose), Jenny (Georg Gleeson) and Katsuro (Chris Nguyen) but as the missing persons pile up; Detectives Kranz and Voller (Casey Martin and Douglas Berry) give chase. This chaotic musical does delight with appropriately absurd characters, catchy show-tunes and exciting choreography. Maureen Bowra and Liam Hartley should be commended on their fantastic use of the space and inventively funny choreography, dance numbers tied to wheeling office chairs is quite an achievement. There was a lovely attention to detail in set pieces, styling and design that kept the story flowing and the audience immersed.
There were moments where the comedic timing was a little out, and the pace lulled quite drastically at the beginning of act two; however the energy from this cast was more than enough to hold the show strong. Martin and Berry brought ecstatic levels of energy to their roles, never wavering no matter what they were doing. Rose and Gleeson were exceptional in their characterisation, bringing earnestness and energy to Lindsay and Jenny. Wykes was fantastic as Dr. Heiter, unsettling yet impressive, especially when showcasing some masterful tap skills. Nguyen brought a loveable innocence to Katsuro and relatable distress to his other child character, showcasing his range between deluded and grounded. Although, the audience should be alerted that the front row is a ‘splash zone’ for fake bodily fluids from Nguyen and to stick to the back if you’re squeamish.
If you’re left wondering how they pulled off a human centipede on-stage, credit must be awarded to costumer Jemma Crowhurst for her design. It is not incredibly graphic but it is an impressive illusion that was definitely uncomfortable at times, which was exactly the point in those moments. The illusion was unfortunately ruined by a dream sequence which allowed the actors to move freely in their pieces of the costume, making it more obvious how it was done. A costume change or blocking change would have preserved its integrity. Another detail that was missed was the lack of blood when bullets eventually fly, in such an intimate setting it is easy to see missing details such as these. Fortunately, these things did not detract much from the overall performance and the confident vocals presented.
The highlight of this performance, other than the choreography, would be the beautiful vocal arrangements. All cast members showed immense confidence and control in their songs, fantastic timing and well executed harmonies. The cast did not falter at the wide variety of song style choices, or singing in extreme accents; it was handled skillfully across the board. This absolutely made the show a toe-tapping good time with huge congratulations to the cast, musical director (Nate Stevenson) and composer (Thomas Currie). Whilst the song that carries our Detectives through the show can get a little repetitive at times, the soundtrack is one that will sneak its way onto your musical sing-a-long playlists. The production was well lit, well mixed and well managed making it easy to engage with the performance. Overall, The Human Centipede Parody Musical is a Disgusting Delight that is definitely worth checking out, and unfortunately, you won’t want to look away.
To book tickets to The Human Centipede Parody Musical, please visit https://piptheatre.org/the-human-centipede-parody-musical/.