Rock of Ages
★★★★★ Phenomenal
Paradise in Augustines (Venue 152): Fri 1 – Sat 9 Aug 2025
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Bare Productions continue their streak of high-calibre musicals with a Rock of Ages that roars onto the Sanctuary stage at Paradises at Augustines with an all-star company.
A jukebox musical celebrating 1980s classic rock hits, Rock of Ages follows the denizens of the Bourbon Room on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. Drew (Joshua Scott) has moved there from Detroit with dreams of becoming a rockstar, while Sherrie (Georgia Brennan) made the leap to LA to pursue her acting career. They both end up working for Dennis (Will Jackson) at the Bourbon Room— but what seems like an instant love story soon becomes much more complicated.
The cast of Rock Of Ages from Bare Productions. Pic: Rebecca Holmes.
Sherrie and Dennis go on a date that turns south; Stacee Jaxx (Ryan Livingstone), frontman of the rock band Arsenal and “bi-king viking” sex god returns to the Bourbon Room to play a farewell gig before going solo; German developer Hertz (Russel Coid) and his son Franz (Aodhán Mallon) arrive and hatch a redevelopment plot with the Mayor (Chanel Turner-Ross) that threatens to close down the Bourbon Room.
It’s a freight train of chaos that somehow manages to stay on its tracks, keeping hold of its various threads with the help of narrator Lonny (Sam Eastop), Dennis’s right-hand man at the club. Fully aware that he’s in a musical, Lonny frequently addresses the audience about the goings-on of the show. There’s obviously going to be a happy ending —it’s not the kind of show to try and sneak a tragedy in— but the show still manages to maintain tension and stakes while also poking fun at itself.
impressive grit
The cast is packed with phenomenal vocal performances, every single member standing up to the demands of the raucous score and delivering hit after hit. Livingstone’s Stacee Jaxx has impressive grit, range, and power, a voice that could easily have rubbed shoulders with Alice Cooper. Meanwhile, Scott’s Drew is a study in contrast, clear and strident, with a phenomenal upper extension.
Hairography abounds in Bare Productions’ Rock Of Ages. Pic: Rebecca Holmes.
Brennan’s Sherrie has a distinctly musical theatre sound, but shows her rock bona fides as the show progresses, tackling ever more demanding songs. Rosie Sugrue is a knockout as Venus Club owner Justice Charlier, bringing down the house with a stratospheric rendition of Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me.
It’s easy to focus on the extraordinary vocals (and stellar band, led by musical director Finlay Turnbull) in Rock of Ages, but the acting isn’t to be forgotten. The nature of jukebox musicals is to be somewhat stitched together, but there’s nothing slapdash about the commitment of every member of the cast to their parts in the story. The situations might be a bit absurd, but the humanity is real, and there’s enough truth in it for any dreamer who’s had to face reality to recognize themselves.
thoughtful direction
Under the thoughtful direction of Dominic Whitfield-Holbrook, with exceptional choreography by Felicity Hannah, some of the more misogynistic elements of the show are smoothed out, and its opportunities for queer visibility are amplified. This is a Rock of Ages that revels in hope, love, joy, dreams, and the unifying power of rock and roll. Don’t miss it.
Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes (with one interval).
Paradise in Augustines (Sanctuary), 41 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EL. Venue 152.
Friday 1-Saturday 9 August 2025
Evenings: 8.30pm (8pm on Fri 1).
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Book here on EdFest.com.*
*Affiliate link.
Georgia Brennan and Joshua Scott in Rock Of Ages from Bare Productions. Pic: Rebecca Holmes.
ENDS
