A strange comfort on a dark day.

Best bit: Whenever Michael C. Hall sang. He’s a reincarnation of Bowie on stage!.

Any boring bits? At times I lost focus due to the non-linear storytelling.

Who would like it? True Bowie fans. The ones who've bought and devoured every LP, not just the early stuff.

Who wouldn't like it? People who’re looking for a feel-good, jukebox musical.

Morning after effect: Faith in art and music, an antidote to Trump.

4 out of 5 stars

Considering the current state of world affairs, a six month trip to Mars may sound increasingly appealing to some as the political dust settles. With a certain bottle-blonde business magnate elected president on the 9th of November, I needed something to take my mind off the growing sense of foreboding in the pit of my stomach. David Bowie's Lazarus, one of his last works before his untimely death in early 2016 (or perhaps cosmic repatriation), proved to be the perfect escape.

A sequel to Walter Tevis' novel The Man Who Fell To Earth and subsequent film of the same name starring Ziggy Stardust himself, Lazarus follows the lovesick and displaced humanoid-extraterrestrial Thomas Newton, played by Dexter alumnus Michael C. Hall. The stage and screen veteran's Newton is played with an otherworldly sense of tenderness in the production's more introspective moments, as well as a frenetic restlessness as the lonely alien's destructive habits (binge watching TV and a predilection for gin and twinkies) and languid nihilism catch up with him.

He is "a dying man that cannot die", stuck between two worlds, existing in the apathetic twilight between his past life on earth and the yearning to go back to his home planet. Songs from Bowie's legendary catalogue, opening with Black Star's evocative hit Lazarus, reflect Newton's descent into madness. It must be said that Hall's voice is eerily similar to Bowie's. Beyond intonation and accent, his timbre and emotive vocal style bear the nuances of the icon.

Previously unreleased track 'No Plan' also signals the arrival of 'Girl', a figment of a febrile mind, a muse, a spectre from his former life. Sophia Anne Caruso shines as Newton's waiflike guide and her dulcet-toned voice is soft yet powerful when necessary. With a stage design that features the backing band on stage, the production's music is a star in and of itself, as it should be.

For all of its rock'n'roll history and star power, it doesn't conform to the stereotypes of an easy-to-watch jukebox musical. It plays with time and space, using abstraction, astounding video imagery and Bowie’s often angular and discordant music to vividly conjure what I felt was Newton’s experience of earth and human emotion. Lazarus is a deeply moving and sometimes confusing experience, much like life itself. While its philosophical and avant-garde nature may make it hard to follow at times, it’s worth suspending your disbelief to revel in its poetry.

A strange comfort on a dark day.

REVIEWED BY TEIA FREGONA

Wednesday 9th November 2016
Kings Cross Theatre, London
Find me on Twitter: @_londontheatre_

View our show pages for more information about Lazarus, Kings Cross Theatre.