Review | Exposure: The Musical at St James Theatre

The private lives of celebrities are something we, as the public, can barely escape from. Whether it’s a ‘has been’ supermodel falling out of a limo with a bottle of Moet in hand or a reality star papped on a beach in a questionable choice of speedos, we lap it up and wait for the next off-the-press shots of our icons to look their worst or involve themselves in some form of scandal.

Exposure The Musical is a snapshot into the world of celebrities and morals. From the start we’re introduced to Jimmy (David Albury), a sexy photographer who starts shooting images for ‘passion’.

A tale through the ages, Exposure opens with a colourful and well-choreographed scene in the school yard to get you in the mood.

Jimmy struggles to find his niche and purpose until he meets Miles Mason, played by Michael Greco (Eastenders’ Beppe Di Marco – remember him?) a ‘devilish’ media mogul, who commissions Jimmy to shoot the seven deadly sins and basically sell his life away to the world of paparazzi.

Among one of his image conquests, is that of his now singing superstar school friend Pandora (Niamh Perry from Andrew Lloyd-Webbers I’d do Anything).

He seeks to go against his instincts to find the perfect shot and things don’t go as planned as he falls in love with a charming homeless lady, Tara (played by Emmerdale’s Natalie Anderson).

The most bizarre yet entertaining part was the dream-like scene where Jimmy is haunted by Miles Mason and taken through the various deadly sins. The ensemble plays a big part here to make this the most visually captivating scene of the play.

Following suit, I list below my seven favourite things from Exposure (SPOILERS):

Jimmy’s torso – luckily on display for good parts of both halves of the musical
Pandora’s suicide scene – beautifully performed, gripping and shows off some incredible vocal talent and humanising the Taylor Swift style superstar.
‘Gluttony’ in the seven deadly sins scene – basically a psychedelic human pig, wrapped in string
Tara – the homeless love-interest of Jimmy with her Irish charm and fantastic voice
Miles Mason’s outfit – consistently dressed in the most glamorous of tuxes, and who doesn’t want to see Beppe Di Marco singing on stage?
The video effects – aside from the well written up-beat numbers performed, the background visual effects throughout really helped shape the narrative and keep you entertained
Jimmy’s Father – appearing at various points throughout the musical in a ghost-like fashion. Kurt Kansley, who plays Jimmy’s father, had the most outstanding voice of the night, full of emotion and conveying disappointment at Jimmy’s poor career choices.

Overall, the play offers a fresh, youthful and contemporary sound full of wit and portrays the ultimate price of fame in a brilliant and original way.

Exposure The Musical is currently showing at St.James Theatre in London until 27^th August.

BOOK TICKETS HERE with Attitude Tickets

Words: Hywel Kennedy

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