Review: Speedo Mick the Musical at Liverpool's Royal Court ****

There have been plenty of stories on stage inspired by the Red side of Liverpool – so chapeau to the Royal Court for redressing the balance a little this summer.

After recently examining the life of the near-legendary Bill Shankly in Red or Dead, the Court has turned its attention to a rather different hero from the Blue end of Stanley Park (or at least until recently when Bramley-Moore was completed). And hot on the heels of Speedo Mick the theatre will be putting another well-known Evertonian centre stage this summer in the fantastical The Legend of Rooney’s Ring.

There’s something fantastical too about the story of Michael Cullen, and yet it’s all true – the die-hard Bluenose from Dovecot who pulled himself back from a destructive spiral of addiction, homelessness and suicidal thoughts to raise £1million for good causes by popping on a pair of blue Speedos and embarking on a series of audacious but gruelling personal challenges.

Cullen’s story is brought vividly to life by writer John Fay, composer Boff Whalley - who four years ago penned the tunes for Homebaked the Musical on the same stage, and director Conrad Nelson (who knows the importance of stories with plenty of community spirit).

And if it occasionally feels somewhat haphazard around the edges, the musical is endearingly big-hearted and delivered with chutzpah and a delightful joie de vivre by the versatile cast of actor-musos.

Above: Speedo Mick the Musical. Top: Paul Duckworth as Speedo Mick with members of the cast. Photos by Andrew AB.

Whalley’s original score doffs its hat at all sorts of genres, from rock to doo-wop to calypso to big anthems with wild, spiralling guitar solos from Steve Simmonds, and a repeated twist on the lyrics of a certain Rodgers and Hammerstein classic sung by that lot from the Kop.

There are also musical nods to The Jam (Eton Rivals) and the Proclaimers, and – in one of several cheese dream moments - a sweary gangsta rap featuring, improbably, centenarian fundraiser Captain Tom which reaches a climax with Simmonds screaming up and down his guitar strings with a Zimmer frame.

The overall effect, when paired with some clever and witty choreography, has the feel of Sunny Afternoon (the effervescent and lairy Kinks’ musical) meets Joan Littlewood’s darkly larky Oh! What a Lovely War.

At the centre of it all is Paul Duckworth, playing the eponymous fundraiser, who gamely cavorts about for much of the evening in a pair of perilously tight Speedos and a hat.

Above: Steve Simmonds in Speedo Mick the Musical. Photo by Andrew AB.

If it all sounds like a jolly jape, there are many times when it is. But Fay’s story has a much darker and more thoughtful heart, explored through the fundraiser’s relationship with his supportive wife (Polly Lister) and his interactions with the mysterious ‘Johnny’ (Lenny Wood, bringing emotional heft) whom we encounter first in a night-time act of desperation.

Duckworth’s Mick is a human dynamo, relentlessly pursuing the next challenge - from swimming the Channel to climbing Britain’s three highest peaks in the dead of winter, via two marathon treks around the country - in what is itself a kind of addiction.

A story rooted in hopelessness but ultimately about hope, Speedo Mick the Musical takes its audience on quite the journey over its two-hour 20-minute running time. And you don’t have to be a Blue to appreciate the ride.