As a reviewer, you get a kind of sixth sense quite early in a show as to whether you’re going to enjoy it or not. After a long video prologue showing three friends graduating from university and then larking around, I soon realised that 10k? Jog On? wasn’t going to be for me.

Running is frequently described as character-building. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for 10k? Jog On!, a musical comedy that arrives at the Jack Studio full of enthusiasm but rather less in the way of original ideas. The premise has a certain sitcom appeal. Two aimless friends, Nick (Nicholas Southcott) and Charlie (Tom Watson) , decide to honour the memory of Jamie (the third graduate) by training for a 10k race and raising money for charity. What follows is a journey of self-discovery, male bonding, and personal growth. Or at least that appears to be the intention. In practice, it feels more like being trapped on a treadmill set to “mildly irritating.”

Watson’s script is determinedly upbeat, but the jokes are stretched alarmingly thin and, at times, puerile and silly – but not in a good way. Much of the humour relies on the revelation that young men are lazy, avoid discussing their feelings, and dislike exercise – observations that might have felt fresh sometime around the London Olympics. The characters themselves never develop much beyond a collection of familiar comic tics, leaving us with two slacker protagonists whose company becomes increasingly hard work.

The musical numbers fare a little better. Sam Wells and Watson’s songs are energetic enough covering hip hop, pop, rock, and musical theatre tropes but are formulaic with bland melodies and trite lyrics.. Several numbers feel less like songs and more like conversations that have accidentally acquired a backing track. The result is a pre-recorded score that generates plenty of noise but very little momentum.

The production throws itself into proceedings with admirable commitment. Director Hannah Lochhead keeps everything moving at pace and the performers attack the material with undeniable gusto. Scarlett Irish, Chloe Way and George Deller play all the other characters and all five performers are really enjoying themselves and there are moments when the cast’s enthusiasm almost persuades you that something more substantial is lurking beneath the surface. Almost.

The show’s biggest problem is that it desperately wants to say something meaningful about friendship, grief and modern masculinity but never gets much further than a twenty minute sketch stretched to ninety very long minutes. Every emotional beat arrives signposted from miles away and every revelation feels borrowed from a dozen better plays and sitcoms. By the time the inevitable lessons have been learned, one’s main feeling is relief that the finish line is finally in sight.

For a musical about endurance, 10k? Jog On! inadvertently becomes a test of it. The cast may complete the race, but for this reviewer, the journey often feels considerably longer than 10 kilometres, although for full disclosure, the sold-out audience (apart from me, it seems) loved it.

Two Stars.

Reviewed by Alan Fitter.

https://brockleyjack.co.uk/