When I saw I was A Teenage She Devil described as a ‘queer 80s horror comedy rock musical,’ I knew that this was a show I needed to see. The show follows Nancy Nelson, a bullied outside whose desperate plea for help is answered by Satan himself, transforming her into the revenge fuelled rock chick. As her best friend Debbie fights to pull her back from the brink it becomes a race to see whether love can outpace damnation.

The show is a homage to the horror films of the 1980’s and as soon as I was thinking that the start of the plot was beginning to look a little like Carrie, the characters themselves acknowledged it! With a prom night, cheerleaders and a mohawk at its centre the show gleefully stiches together Clueless, Rocky Horror, Grease 2, Gremlins, Evil Dead. Its’s less pastiche and more a deliberately excessive collage which is knowingly camp and unapologetically loud.

The book is undeniably slight but at times it feels like a conscious choice and it is one of these shows that remind you that sometimes it is ok for theatre to simply be fun and silly and I Was A Teenage She Devil is both of these things. From songs delivered to severed heads to body parts flying into the audience it’s not a show that is supposed to be taken seriously, nor have a huge (or actually any) amount of character development.

The show is 80 minutes straight through which is perfect for a show of this kind, there are no drawn out moments of setting up the drama but instead straight into the silliness of the situation. The show also has 22 songs with the music, lyrics and orchestration (as well as the book) by Sean Matthew Whiteford. There are moments where the cast barely stop for breath before launching into another song and there are occasions where the songs begin to blur into itself and the relentless pace leaves little room for contrast meaning individual numbers sometimes struggle to stand out.

Aoife Haakenson plays Nancy and transforms from a shy girl who plays the recorder to a man-eating pawn of the devil in front of the audience’s eyes and does brilliantly with the contrast required for both roles and her vocal energy during She-Devil meaning that this was one of the highlights of the evening. Ashley Goh plays Debbie, Nancy’s best friend and potential love interest and with their mohawk and physicality brings a real punk rock feel to the part with their energy. The head cheerleader and Queen of high school Tiffani was played by Caitlin Anderson whose bitchy vibe was spot on and her 35 year old boyfriend who is still at school, ‘Big Rod’ was played by Jordan Fox and despite all of the bags of charisma Fox has, as ‘Big Rod’ he managed to give me the ick, a perfect choice for this role.

Rachel Klein makes full use of the intimate Studio space packing in ambitious choreography and high energy staging however the cumulative effect can feel overwhelming; with little variation in intensity the production occasionally tips from exhilarating to exhausting. doesn’t let this stop her, with numerous numbers having full out choreography a lot is packed onto a small stage! The same applied to the sound levels where everything was turned up to the max and at times this meant that I missed some of the one-liners or movie references over the music.

I Was A Teenage She Devil knows exactly what it is and rarely pretends to be anything else. It’s chaotic, camp and deliberately excessive, revelling in its own absurdity while leaning hard into its 80s horror influences. While the sheer volume of songs and relentless pace can blur the edges, there’s an undeniable sense of fun that carries it through. This is not a show for those seeking nuance — but for audiences willing to embrace the madness, it delivers a gleefully unhinged night of theatre.

I Was A Teenage She Devil is on at The Other Palace Until 26th April. You can find out more and buy tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Operation Mincemeat, The Play That Goes Wrong and Back to the Future.