Children of the 1970s may recall the oddball charms of Bugs Bunny Meets the Superheroes, a stage show starring Warner Bros characters never normally seen in the same frame: Wonder Woman teamed up with Tweety to foil Yosemite Sam; Road Runner exited stage left pursued by the Riddler. That mix-and-match spirit lives on, albeit spattered with blood and brains, in Tarantino Live, a blend of cabaret, rock gig and Secret Cinema-style professional cosplay. The show, adapted by Anderson Davis (who also directs) and Sumie Maeda, mashes together Quentin Tarantino’s films and their soundtracks to create a mega-mix of songs, speeches and severed ears.
In front of a raggedy screen that might have been torn from one of Tarantino’s beloved grindhouses, the evening begins with a Charles Manson disciple delivering the climactic monologue from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood about kids growing up watching murder on TV. He is interrupted by a figure on the balcony, dressed like a Reservoir Dog but bellowing Tim Roth’s dialogue from Pulp Fiction, who promptly guns him down. As a six-strong surf-rock band accompanies the action from scaffolding on either side of the stage, the actors spill on to the floor, cracking whips and swinging swords so close to the audience that they almost slice the foam from the tops of our beers.
