Archive note: This page has been rescued as part of the Clarissa’s Corner theatre archive. The original Bat Out of Hell URL survived in Google and the original site artwork from November 2022 is still in the Media Library, but the original review body text is no longer present in WordPress. Rather than invent my old wording or opinions, I’ve rebuilt the page around the surviving Clarissa’s Corner material and verified production information.
Why Bat Out of Hell was always on my theatre radar
Bat Out of Hell fits very naturally into the older Clarissa’s Corner theatre archive. Back in my 2018–2019 West End wishlist I wrote about wanting to see rock musicals because the music choices included Meat Loaf, Bon Jovi and Bonnie Tyler. That older post is still part of the site, so this rescued page now links that earlier theatre wishlist with the later Bat Out of Hell coverage.
Overview
Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell – The Musical is a huge, unapologetically theatrical rock musical built around the songs associated with Steinman and Meat Loaf. The story follows Strat, the forever-young leader of The Lost, who falls for Raven, the daughter of Falco, the tyrannical ruler of the post-apocalyptic city of Obsidian.
The production mixes a rebellious youth story with elements that echo Romeo and Juliet and Peter Pan, then throws in motorcycles, dystopian spectacle and a wall of rock music. It is very much a show designed to feel larger than life.
The songs
The score includes some of the biggest Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf songs, including Bat Out of Hell, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That), Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Dead Ringer for Love and You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth.
London return at the Peacock Theatre
In 2022 it was announced that Bat Out of Hell would return to London for a limited season at the Peacock Theatre from 17 February to 1 April 2023, after touring in the UK and internationally. The timing also matches the surviving Clarissa’s Corner artwork, which was uploaded in November 2022.
Cast
The London return featured Glenn Adamson as Strat and Kellie Gnauck as Raven, with Rob Fowler as Falco and Sharon Sexton as Sloane. They were joined by Jayme-Lee Zanoncelli as Zahara, James Chisholm as Jagwire, Matteo Johnson as Tink, Katie Tonkinson as Valkyrie and Danny Whelan as Ledoux.
Creative Team
The musical has book, music and lyrics by Jim Steinman and was directed by Jay Scheib. The production’s creative team included choreography by Xena Gusthart, set and costume design by Jon Bausor, original costume design by Meentje Nielsen, lighting design by Patrick Woodroffe, sound design by Gareth Owen, video design by Finn Ross and orchestrations by Steve Sidwell.
A show tied to the legacy of Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf
The 2022–23 production carried extra emotional weight because performances were dedicated to Jim Steinman, who died in 2021, and Meat Loaf, who died in January 2022. The musical remains one of the most direct ways their huge, dramatic rock catalogue has been translated into live theatre.
Clarissa’s original review
Although the original wording of my review has not survived in WordPress, the experience absolutely has. Bat Out of Hell was one of the best shows I’ve seen. It had that huge, full-throttle rock-musical energy that completely suited me, and the scale of it made the whole night feel like an event rather than just another theatre trip.
One of the moments that makes this particular visit stand out in my memory is that Brian May was there. As someone who already loved big rock theatre, that made an already brilliant night feel even more special.
It was also the first time I saw Danielle Steers perform. That gives this show another important place in my own theatre history, because she was a performer I would go on to recognise and remember from later theatre experiences.
I don’t want to invent a precise star rating if I can’t recover the original one, but the feeling is very clear: this was a standout show for me and one of those productions I still think of as one of the best I’ve seen.
More Theatre on Clarissa’s Corner
For another little piece of the story, my West End theatre 2018–2019 wishlist shows that Meat Loaf’s music was already part of the kind of rock theatre I wanted to see years before this page appeared. You can also explore more current guides and rescued archive reviews throughout the Theatre & Culture section.
