Criptonite: Intergalactic Redux - Red Rattler

Criptonite: Intergalactic Redux

Red Rattler Theatre

There is a moment, somewhere between the silver-jump suited stagehands gliding across the stage and a pole artist suspended mid-air under a crescent moon, when you stop watching a show and start inhabiting a world. That is what Criptonite does. It builds the Glimmerverse around you, and then it makes you believe in it.

Created and performed by an entirely disabled cast, Criptonite is a high-skill circus theatre work that weaves pole, aerial, live vocals and comedy into one continuous, unbroken journey.

The design is precise and thoughtful: glitter-drenched but never cheap, spectacular but always purposeful. Those stagehands deserve a special mention: costumed in silver, they move through the action as if they belong to the galaxy itself.  One moment drew particular delight: a spaceship conjured from what appeared to be an umbrella - absurd on paper, completely magical in practice, and greeted with the applause it deserved. The use of UV colours and lighting is unabashedly camp and gloriously corny, and the audience loves it for exactly that reason. This is a show that knows when to wink.

The cast dream a world where they belong and are celebrated, and they take you with them. That's not performance. That's something more powerful.

The strength and grace on display are extraordinary. Andrew Gregory, known onstage as Tattoo Pole Boy, discovered pole in his forties after a lower leg amputation; Charlotte Evans began aerial six months after losing her leg at twenty. These are not backstories held at arm's length for inspiration, they are the argument the show is making, rendered in motion.

Tom North, as MC and improviser, is a vital gravitational force. Charismatic and sharp, he holds the room between acts with wit and genuine warmth, improvising material that earns its laughs without breaking the world the show has built. Dean Nash, the live vocalist, brings soul and a knowing mischief that anchors the whole thing emotionally.

At the centre of the Glimmerverse is Deb Roach, pole artist, producer, creative director, and an absolute force. Her costumes alone announce someone with a singular vision: spectacular, considered, every detail in service of the world she has built. And what a world it is, because Criptonite is, at its heart, Roach's personal dream rendered on stage with extraordinary drive and discipline. Watch her duet with Charlotte Evans -tender, gorgeous, two artists in complete conversation with each other - and you understand what is at stake in this work. Then watch what happens when the entire ensemble moves together, the choreography knitting every thread into one, and you understand what she has achieved. This is not a performer who happens to also produce and direct. This is an artist who knows exactly what she is making and will not stop until it exists.

The Glimmerverse holds up as a complete world. There is a logic to it, a dream-logic, and you go along for the ride because this ensemble has committed fully to the dream: a universe built from the things we loved as children, reimagined as a space where these artists are not outliers but the centre of everything. It is, in the truest sense, powerful stuff.

The Red Rattler in Sydenham is the right home for it. The venue has an edgy reputation for a reason. You don't go there for the usual. It is gloriously welcoming, indie to its bones, and long may it reign. A show on the edge belongs at the edge.

Review by Kate Gaul