The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical – Review – Bradford Alhambra Theatre

By Sue Dean, October 2025

From the moment the house lights dim and the curtain rises on a steampunk tableau of rusted gantries and snaking pipes, it’s clear this Percy Jackson has swagger to spare. The set suggests a world forged in furnace heat – an industrial Olympus. Yet as the evening unfolds, so does a limitation: aside from two small central staircases, little on the apparatus actually moves. Most transitions are handed to projections or to the audience’s imagination — a choice that may reflect budgetary prudence more than aesthetic resolve.

No matter. The company storms through with such velocity that the stage’s immobility becomes almost a counterweight. The pace scarcely slackens; scenes and songs arrive at a sprint, as if chased by Furies. It’s exhilarating — and occasionally breathless. With so much story to shoulder, the production sometimes feels as though it is compressing a textbook into a comic strip. Late in the first half, when the rock numbers pile up in rapid succession, narrative clarity wobbles and confusion briefly reigns.

Still, the performances anchor the evening. Vasco Emauz, leading the charge as Percy, offers an open, likeable centre – wry, agile, and vocally sure. He’s matched by Kayna Montecillo, whose Annabeth supplies the standout voice of the night: bright steel on top, warmth beneath, and a strategist’s calm that cuts cleanly through the noise. Cahir O’Neill’s Grover brings winning comic timing and an ingenuous sweetness; his rapport with Emauz keeps the quest human-sized even as gods and monsters loom.

“Reliance on projection”

Costume choices sensibly plant the action in today – hoodies and trainers meeting prophecy and fate – and they track the plot with unfussy clarity. When myth steps into view, the visuals oblige: the centaur and the faun are realised with flair, their silhouettes handsome against the ironwork. Even with the reliance on projection, there’s no shortage of stage magic. Gags land, illusions appear and vanish, and the directors find nimble ways to suggest the book’s menagerie without drowning the stage in latex.

The score, all original, barrels forward on chugging, guitar-driven rhythms. Its energy is undeniable; its uniformity less helpful. Too many songs occupy a similar lane – up-tempo, rock-inflected, declarative – which flattens the evening’s emotional topography. A touch more variety, depth and dynamism would give the drama space to breathe, to shade, to surprise. When the finale finally gathers the company into a tight, good-looking set-piece, it hints at the musical contrasts that might have enriched the journey.

None of which seemed to trouble a sizeable portion of the audience. Half the house was packed with young fans who know their Camp Half-Blood from their Lotus Hotel, and they were rapt – laughing in the right places, anticipating twists, and greeting favourite beats with that knowing hush that only true believers can muster. If the storytelling felt hurried to some adults, the devotees had already filled in the margins.

“Commitment never wanes”

The evening’s humour is plentiful and peppered throughout: a visual gag here, a deadpan aside there, a wink to the canon that doesn’t tip into in-joke smugness. When choreography appears, it’s sparing but crisp, and the closing moments snap satisfyingly into line. The ensemble’s commitment never wanes; there’s a sense of a troupe giving everything – sometimes too much, perhaps, but never too little.

In the balance, this is a lively, efficiently told Percy Jackson that chooses propulsion over polish. The static set and projection-led changes keep the stage pictures serviceable rather than sumptuous; the score’s sameness blurs certain contours; and the sheer volume of incident can crowd the lungs of the tale. Yet the performances and the production’s crackle of mischief carry the night.

You might quibble about cohesion but you can’t deny the entertainment. For those already sworn to Camp Half-Blood, the quest lands. For the uninitiated, it’s a high-energy ride – occasionally hectic, frequently funny, and delivered with heart – even if, by the end, one wishes the lightning had struck in a few more musical keys.

‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ is at Bradford Alhambra Theatre until 25th October
images: Johan Persson