GHosTs take 'Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens' on to a higher galaxy.
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I've seen many different productions of the show, but this is the first time I have witnessed the full lifecycle from conception through to completion. I was there at the auditions, again through many of the rehearsals, and was leading the audience participation at the first night. What I hadn't realised is how complicated it all was ! The vision and drive of the director, the ambition and determination of the performers, the expertise and foresight of the technical team. Phew ! I was exhausted just watching.

This of course was the first UK amateur production of Saucy Jack & the Space Vixens, but amateur it was only in that nobody got paid. The director had heard about the show in ’96, seen it from ’98 onwards, and had been dying to put it on ever since. GHosTs perform at the Electric Theatre in Guildford town centre, a modern theatre with a traditional layout. There were clearly two options with this show. The easy way would have been to produce it as a stage play with the audience face-on, but that of course has its limitations and just isn’t the ‘cabaret bar’ setting. The difficult way is to take all the seats out, set up 'stages' at both ends of the auditorium, run platforms across the floor, and involve the audience by seating them between the stages. Yes, you can guess which one they took ! However, this production would also increase the cast considerably to include teams of dancers, bouncers (sorry, doormen) and waitresses. Of course the stages and platforms would not give enough space for all to perform. The obvious answer - construct an aluminium eye level walkway around three sides of the stage !

On to the show itself. Well it pays much homage to the London Bridge productions, especially the later versions. It has a large pre act 1 cabaret before Vulva's untimely but inevitable end, including the over-endowed Sophie von Titbonk, and the equally surprising Naomi. At the same time we have new numbers - Vulva sings 'Venus' (an inspired choice) as her first song, backed by a wonderful set of dancers in the most arousing costumes as you are ever likely to see.

Act 1 starts in the usual fashion as we are introduced to the main characters in turn. 'Saucy Jacks' and 'All I Need is Disco' are despatched with great passion, and the up tempo beat of the main show is quickly established. Already the audience's feet are tapping and the Vixens' salute is studied and learned.

Highlights of the first act include Mitch passing the phone to Jack with ‘it’s your Mum’ (which is surprising, bearing in mind she’ll ‘never play the piano at all’, let alone use the phone). Whackoff shakes his cocktail so hard and for so long while talking to Mitch, I thought it was going to explode. Chesty makes her spectacular entrance amidst much light and smoke through a manhole in the floor, which is dutifully replaced by the bouncers as a formation team. Chesty is also so exceptionally attracted to Bunny, that I understand her 'dirty' face lick took considerable practice. During the ‘Chamber of Disappearance’ the MC duly opens the ‘bumper book of crap jokes’ and gives you the worst, and they are a different ‘worst joke’ every night !

Act 2 opens with Chesty returning to the floor and Bunny weeps over her in 'Bunny's Lament'. At the end Chesty is stretchered off by a combination of Bouncers and some St Johns ambulance men. (I don't remember anybody ringing 999 ). Anna’s pulsing funk pack turns out to be something I’m not quite familiar with, but I understand that the revolving bit is rather important. 'Fetish Number From Nowhere' is the highlight of the show for many. Well Ben Dray and Steve Ash don't disappoint and go at the song with gusto. Steve's fetish pants are the briefest you will see anywhere this side of Uranus (which was a close call), and Ben fondles the bubblewrap like he can't let go. Later Shirley Tristar arrives via the same manhole as Chesty, and ‘Space Trucking’ is given the full line dancing treatment using the entire cast, dancers and bouncers. I’m still not sure how they didn’t bump into each other.

The show finishes with Booby’s return as a Spacevixen in all her glory, and of course in the end boy loves girl, girl loves girl, and boy loves boy. Jack even gets resurrected for the final ‘All I Need Is Disco’. Everyone’s a winner.

So in the end what did the good people of Guildford make of Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens, and their little 'walk on the wild side' ? Well I think it was more or less a brand new audience each night, so few of them knew what to expect. Their reactions tended to follow a similar pattern. Despite the warnings in the adverts many perhaps anticipated a regular 'whodunnit'. The first act tended to generate mostly surprise, shock and perhaps a little bit of fear. They certainly hadn't expected to encounter a 'natural' woman with three breasts, let alone a butch lesbian biker waiving a strap-on dildo under their nose. The audience tended to loosen up a bit in the second act. Perhaps refreshed by interval drinks, and by that time believing that nothing 'nasty' was going to happen to them after all, they relaxed a little, joining in with the by now familiar songs and movements, clapping, shouting and perhaps even standing and cheering as the show comes to its tremendous climax. I certainly saw no disappointed faces.

In the archives of 'Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens' how does this show stand up ? Well GHosTs have treated the show as both fans and at the same time given it an independent interpretation with their own ideas. They've taken it, worked it, kept the magic of the show, but adapted it and added their own humour and individual touches. With this UK amateur premier production, GHosTs have truly taken 'Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens' on to a higher galaxy altogether. Head high, heart free.

Mark