Theatre Review - Starman - Auckland - 14th September 2017

By Daryl Habraken

Date / Venue: Thursday September 14th, 2017 - Town Hall, Auckland

'Starman' is a highly entertaining musical experience, transporting the audience into the psychedelic pop of Bowie in the most wonderfully camp way possible.

Sven Ratzke’s Starman is a musical adventure told with tongue in cheek that may or may not have had anything to do with the life of the shows star, deftly using the songs of 70s era Bowie to tell the story.

I wasn’t sure what to expect upon arrival. Perhaps a plain and simple tribute to the star of stage and screen. What we were treated to was a wonderful, colourful and personal tribute from the mind and heart of one of the great european cabaret performers.

There was only one weak part to the show, the entrance, it just felt a little flat, like a late night/early morning back bar in Vegas, he just seemed to lack a bit of energy. The man needed a lift, something to get him going. It came in the form of the audience. Once he had the audience feeding him, there was no stopping this multi talented increasingly flamboyant artist.

His creative stories were punctuated with reworkings of classic tracks like, ‘Starman’, ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Heroes’ just to name a few. Each song has its own twist on the original, never a complete departure, just more of say a jazzy swing or in some cases a more trance edge. Just enough to keep things fresh but also keep the purists engaged without loosing their collective make-up bags.

Ratzke’s antics with the crowd were well received and quick off the cuff, he took good advantage of my companion for the evening with light hearted flirtatious banter and god forbid anyone who got up from their chair to say, use the bathroom, as they were quickly the target of ridicule from the hair sprayed Dutchman

All in all a wonderful evening, naughty laughs, singalongs and a great venue in the smaller theatre at the Auckland Town Hall.

It won't be for everyone but for anyone with a love for interaction, Bowie and psychedelics, you can’t go wrong.