Ready yourself to become obsessed with Julie from the OC. Don’t get the reference? The show doesn’t care. For those of you who are new to the party, Oscar At The Crown is a very queer underground dystopian musical.
The unorthodox show invited guests to indulge and party amongst burnt-out tube carriages, TV monitors looped up with CCTV, and one very large disco ball.
Jan Sport (America’s Got Talent, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars) makes her musical Debut in Oscar At the Crown as Oscar Wilde.
Whilst she’s new to her role, she’s been part of the project since its conception in Boston in 2015. Jan Sport says: ‘OSCAR is the most fun you can legally have in a theatre, and the cast I’m joining are off the charts talented.’
Jan Sport impresses with a powerful belt, the right level of overdramatic acting and a powerful stage presence that reminds you that this is Oscar’s show.
To give you a taste of what’s to come, you’ll arrive to performing artists dancing along to remixes of Pussycat Dolls, Kim Petras, and B*Witched.
In this dystopian future, the queer community of exiles wear emblems of nostalgia including Care Bears, 90’s chokers, and Game Boy Colours.
The show mixes poetry and reality tv to tell the story of a group of exiles hiding from the government. In their bunker all that remains is the complete works of Oscar Wilde, and so they decide to stage a musical on his life. When Constance arrives, the bunker comes under threat and so does Oscar’s musical.
This is a rich and immersive experience that reminds me of walking into the Kit Kat Club for Cabaret, but with a big rule change, instead of no phones – you can film everything.
The themes of captured images, on-screen characters, and what it means to have a social media profile are all explored in the show.
Watch where you stand as moving platforms to travel the actors back and forth and its up to you where you want to be as the scenes change. If you want to prop up the bar and wait for Oscar to join you there, you can do, it’s open all night long.
The set design by Andrew Exeter and unique staging is worth highlighting in so much detail because it’s an incredibly strong element of the production. If you were lucky enough to see Guy’s and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre, you’ll know exactly what it was like to feel part of the show in the same way that Oscar At The Crown invites you to party along.
This is one show you won’t be running out the doors for when it ends. The party continues into the night and even a trip to the toilet is an Instagram moment.
The show is unique in the city and is perfect for Drag Race lovers, anyone who wants to simply have fun, and those who won’t complain about standing up for 90 minutes.
High energy numbers like ‘Julie’ will have you ready to dance, but gravitas is brought into to the show with numbers such as ‘Glimmer of Light’.
This musical manages to make you question where the future is heading, whilst encouraging you to dance and for that I applaud and appreciate it.
However, this show has been running for a little while now and to still have significant sound issues throughout the show is a real disappointment. Lines were lost and the story was hard to follow at points. Can I excuse it? Yes, because even professional theatre spaces seem to constantly be getting it wrong, and fortunately, this is a show that can be enjoyed by simply being immersed.
At the end of the night, there was a huge announcement as Jan Sport will now continue past the extended booking of October 30th and continue right up until November 16th.
The show will also extend its run and is now booking until January 4th 2026.
Theatre: The Crown, 213-215 Tottenham Ct Rd, London W1T 7PS
Review: James Dix Photos: Danny Kaan