Jihad: The Musical is a monotonous one-joke show, and the joke is not very good.
A hit on the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007, it’s been updated by creators Zoe Samuel and Benjamin Scheuer for its London run but feels like an ill-advised student skit.
A naive flower-seller from Jalalabad becomes embroiled in the demented scheming of terrorists and in the chicanery of an ambitious American TV reporter. What follows is a self-consciously wacky and tedious romp.
The plot is exiguous, and the songs pedestrian. Attempts at flamboyant choreography fall flat, while the performances are largely charmless.
Given its subject matter, Jihad: The Musical sounds as though it could be an incendiary act of provocation.
As it stands, however, it isn’t witty enough to be any more than a damp squib.
Jihad: The Musical — until 6 February. Information: 020 7287 2875.
Jihad: The Musical
Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6ST
