Stickin’ Boy: A Punk Rock Musical – Etcetera Theatre

Stickin’ Boy – A Punk Rock Musical

Etcetera Theatre, Camden

Following our preview, Richard David reviews a performance of the sold-out play/musical at Camden’s most intimate theatre. With a successful Green Day musical on Broadway, ‘jukebox musicals’ featuring Madness songs in the West End, could this, authentically gritty punk rock musical, which links the music and the sex trade, with original songs written by Mick Jones cousin, with input from the Clash man himself, have the potential to make the transition from the small stage to much larger venues? Richard and others think it does.

The world is a very different place than it was in 1977, and so is Camden High Street. As a group of us make our way towards the Etcetera Theatre in the spring sunshine, old memories come flooding back amidst the laughter and chat, youthful thoughts of an era long departed and in which a generation of young people briefly imagined they were taking on the world. Armed as it were, with little more than naïve passion and the sound of angry guitars over thunderous drum beats.

Moving forward a few years, it was on this very street that, in early 1980, The Clash played two legendary sold-out shows at the Electric Ballroom, at which they showcased their classic ‘London Calling’ album, gigs that will live forever in the memories of all those who saw them, including mine.

In 2026, London is still calling, and we’re on our way to see the Saturday night performance of ‘Stickin’ Boy’, a Punk Rock musical play written and co-directed by Portobello-based Taurus Trakker frontman, Martin Muscatt, with Rebekah Farmer. The play includes additional material by The Clash’s Mick Jones, one of the seminal figureheads of that original British new wave and one of the relative few who would leave a huge, long-lasting legacy inside British Rock’n’Roll history. The theatre sits above the Oxford Arms pub, and having grabbed a quick pint, we’re soon making our way up a narrow staircase to its compact interior. Steep tiered seating looks down upon a stage area filled with a splendid vintage red telephone box, period furniture and in one corner, a drum kit, guitars and amps. The vibes are cool.

A couple of minutes later, the theatre is plunged into darkness, and we’re off inside a time capsule back to those heady days of ’77. Set inside the sleazy Soho vice scene, the lead character Eddy – played by Tom Patrick Coley – loses a dead-end job and is soon working for a group of escorts, decking out phone boxes with calling cards advertising their services across West London. Also harbouring dreams of Punk Rock stardom, Eddie attracts the romantic pursuits of two of the working girls, Candy – played by Phoebe White – and Mandy – played by Jo Jo O’Donoghue. The girls work for Madam O, played by 80s pop star Jennie ‘Belle Star’ Matthias, who stares into her crystal ball and warns forebodingly of the likely consequences concerning these dalliances.

As he also begins to pursue a gambling habit, something he’s inherited from his hustler Father – played by Simon Berry – Eddy careers on for a while, seemingly oblivious to the rocky waters he’s now immersed within, with Madam O’s ominous warnings eventually manifesting darkly.

The play is essentially a rites-of-passage journey, with Eddie also falling foul of the attentions of rival ‘Stickin’ Boy’ Psycho Jack, a highly volatile Skinhead – played by Benjamin John Durling – who is none too impressed with his new Punk Rocker rival. All this will eventually culminate in Eddie being forced to flee into exile for a year, after a violent encounter with Jack. When he finally returns, things have changed somewhat, and the play closes with Eddie now in his sixties and looking back reflectively at his late seventies ‘glory days’.

‘Stickin’ Boy’ presents a powerful snapshot of the Punk era dramatically, knitting together comedic energies with darker tapestries. But its ultimate strength is in the quality of the songs – played live by Taurus Trakker to the side of the stage – with four of the female cast members, White, O’Donoghue, Thomas and Jennie ‘Belle Star’, taking turns to provide lead vocals at certain points. Muscatt himself takes the lead on others, and it’s within its musical components that ‘Stickin’ Boy’ really explodes into life. All four female characters are utterly formidable vocalists, with Muscatt drawing on Soul, Blues, Jazz and rock influences to craft a truly memorable soundtrack. To call those female vocals ”top class” is a serious understatement; they really are quite mind-blowing and firmly underline the play’s appeal for larger audiences. Lead actor Coley also contributes a couple of highly effective Punk-style anthems.

With Muscatt and Farmer’s direction utilising cast improvisation and ensuring a tight, highly innovative rendition inside a relatively restricted small stage setting, this performance was the fifth of a six-night run at the Etcetera, with tickets having sold out for all the shows. As a band, Taurus Trakker’s live performance is London Rock’n’Roll perfection, with drummer Allison Phillips and bassist Zac Muscavado holding together a razor-sharp rhythm section behind their frontman’s virtuoso guitar work. The play was over twenty years in the making, with Muscatt previously having explored it as a potential radio drama wherein Jones read the part of Eddie’s father. Excerpts of those original readings can be heard on the magnificent soundtrack vinyl album, along with sublime studio versions of the aforementioned songs. Fittingly, Mick Jones – who is Muscatt’s cousin – was sat in the centre of the audience, the presence of one of the original London Punk Godfathers adding a fitting essence to what was truly an electric evening.

Acting-wise, the cast did themselves proud all round with notably impressive performances from the two leads, Coley as Eddie and White as Candy.

‘Stickin’ Boy’ is a fantastic Punk Musical which I believe demands a full-scale West End run, something that many of the audience that night fully concurred with. The unbridled power and quality of the musical elements would reach awesome levels via a huge sound system and full-size mixing desk, with the iconic nature of the dramatic subject matter adding to the prospects of what I think would be a huge potential theatrical success. For Muscatt and the cast, this run was a triumph and will now hopefully become a stepping stone to those heights.

Speaking after Sunday night’s closing show, Muscatt said: ”Putting this play together has been an extremely long, arduous journey, but it was all worth it as a life-changing experience, one which personally gifted me with new creative challenges which I deeply enjoyed.

Myself, the cast and everybody concerned with its production are hoping that this is just the first step on its second journey, one wherein it will end up reaching a far bigger audience.”

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WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT STICKIN’ BOY:

”A tremendous performance with fantastic music and cool acting, I can see ‘Stickin’ Boy eventually being a major West End success.”  Richard Barclay -Executive Film Producer

”Captures the Soho of the time perfectly with breath-taking musical performances.”  Rick Blackman – Author of ‘Babylon’s Burning”

”A brilliant production which I believe as an original ’77 Punk who saw The Clash many times and knew a good few lads like Eddie, now deserves a much bigger stage.”  Lindsey Newton. Original Punk

”A brilliant show with fabulous music, I can definitely see this as a West End musical.”  Trish D. Getty – Film Producer

”Fantastic show, I see musicians as heroes, so I truly enjoyed the play.”  Cathy Tyson – British Actress

CAST

Eddy – Tom Patrick Coley
Candy – Phoebe White
Mandy – Jojo O’ Donoghue
Tuesday – Allison Phillips
Wendy – Freya Thomas
Madame O – Jennie Belle Star Matthias
Psycho Jack / Mr Conway – Benjamin John Durling
Bob (Eddy’s Father) – Simon Berry
Mature Eddy – Martin Muscatt

Written and Directed by Martin Muscatt
Co-Directed by Rebekah Farmer
Additional Material – Mick Jones
Musical Director – Martin Muscatt
Designer – Al Blizzard
Producers – Taurus Trakker
Stage Props/Management – Julie Evans, Rebekah Farmer

Soundtrack Album: available in vinyl, digital, and CD format (CD contains extra tracks) from: Stickin Boy | Taurus Trakker

Words by Richard David, his author profile is here:

Photos courtesy of Luiga Minchiello