Back To The Future: The Musical  
Adelphi Theatre, London  

TRANSFERRING Robert Zemeckis’s 1985 time-travelling blockbuster movie onto the West End stage must have been a daunting undertaking, but the production team have risen to the challenge with incredible gusto.  

Some of the best moments are quite dazzling, particularly when cinematic artistry is used to complement an ambitious array of stage tricks. Clearly a huge amount of work has gone into this production, and in many ways it’s paid off handsomely.  

At times, in fact, there’s so much to admire in the technical work from illusion designer Chris Fisher and head of effects Ben Stevens that the storyline — much the same as the film, but with a few judicious tweaks — gets shifted into the background.  
 
The first scene-setting 15 minutes in particular are rather slow, and it’s only when Marty McFly travels back to 1955 that things really begin to move apace.

By the interval the audience is humming, yet on their return there’s another sluggish start as we build to a dramatic, exhilarating climax.  

With a plot that’s actually quite simple despite its science fiction intricacies, perhaps a shorter treatment with two or three fewer song and dance routines might have worked better — especially as Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard’s musical elements, infused with the nostalgia of old R’n’B, doo wop and rock ’n’ roll hits, are hardly studded with stand-out tunes or lyrics.  

Among the cast, Will Haswell plays Marty McFly with more than a nod to Michael J Fox’s portrayal in the film, and Roger Bart as the eccentric scientist Doc Brown bounces manically off the teenager to create a fairly convincing cross-generational friendship.

But it’s Hugh Coles who catches the eye with a brilliant performance as Marty’s nervously downtrodden father — on his theatre debut, no less.  

With talent of that calibre and a backdrop of such accomplished technological adventure, it’s no wonder this is already a much-sought-after musical theatre ticket with a long run pencilled in. Despite some weak points, it’s fun, spectacular and a worthy companion to the original film.  
 
Peter Mason

Ends February 13 2022. Tickets: www.backtothefuturemusical.com.