Tony Hawks’s musical, Midlife Cowboy, has transferred from Edinburgh to the Pleasance, Islington. At press night, the comedy elite showed up (Andy Hamilton, Angus Deayton, Caroline Quentin, Alistair McGowan) to see Hawks playing a songwriter, Stuart, whose marriage is on the rocks. To revive his love life, Stuart puts his wife in charge of the country-and-western club they jointly own, and the story follows the travails of their in-house band as they seek glory in a local talent contest.
The cast, led by Hawks, are skilful musicians with oodles of charm but the narrative is short of high stakes and surprises. The script might be punchier. Sample gag: Stuart reacts to a proposal he mistrusts. ‘I’m like a native American. I have reservations.’ Not a bad joke but more are needed. Hawks’s comedy mates should have a flip through the text and contribute half a dozen gags each. Fifty quid a pop. The show would then be ten times funnier.
It’s amazing how often a musical is marred by the writer’s overambition. Hawks has created the storyline, the dialogue, the lyrics and the music. He’s also the producer, director and star. Has anyone played so many roles in one show in the history of musical theatre? Hits aren’t made by solo talents but by collaborators. If he were to turn a classic play or novel into a musical he’d benefit from a pre-existing audience. That’s where the gold lies. His outstanding gift is as a tunesmith. The melodies he writes are constantly moving in strange directions and yet they always feel right in the end. His harmonies are as deft and complex as Noel Gallagher’s. Anyone managing a pop act would do well to rummage through Hawks’s back catalogue and plunder its treasures.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in