Entire 144 episodes of hit 90s TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer told in 70 minutes at Newbury tomorrow

Seventy minutes

Seven seasons

One Spike

Buffy Revamped comes to the Corn Exchange tomorrow (Tuesday) so we sent our @newburytoday reviewer to see the show in Oxford to get the heads up - his verdict? ‘Buffy Revamped will entertain more than fans’. In this fast-paced new production we bring you the entire 144 episodes of the hit 90s TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as told through the eyes of the one person who knows it inside out… Spike.

Book now at https://cornexchangenew.com/

Buffy Revamped at the Oxford Playhouse

Saturday 7 September

By Jon Lewis

Tale of the Vampire

Comedian Brendan Murphy’s solo show Buffy Revamped is an affectionate romp through the 144 episodes of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series that ran from 1997 to 2003. Murphy takes on the character of peroxide blond Spike, a vampire enemy turned lover for heroine Buffy, in a high-tempo 70-minute parody of the programme.

Spike explains the context for the series – the small Californian town of Sunnydale that sits above a hellmouth that attracts demons of all sorts. Buffy, a 16 year-old schoolgirl at Sunnydale High in the first series, recruits a ‘Scooby gang’ of ‘nerds’ no one else notices but who will do anything for her, including kill. Donning a range of wigs, voices, outfits (and for Oz, the werewolf boyfriend of Willow the witch, a cuddly toy) Spike imitates these central characters, ridiculing their mannerisms and motivations.

Spike describes Xander, a rather dim character, as Buffy’s version of Chandler Bing, a sly reference to Murphy’s other pop-cultural satire, the award-winning Friend about Gunther, the coffee waiter in Friends’ Central Perk. Buffy, with a long blonde wig and a wiggly posture to portray her kickboxing demon-slaying, is the apple of Spike’s eye. Spike’s quite a softy despite his tough language as he fights for Buffy’s attention.

There’s plenty of audience interaction; folk in the first two rows come in for special attention, either as butts for jokes or as unexpected participants in some of the scenes. Murphy’s humour is sometimes for adult audiences only, often where he breaks the fourth wall as himself and not as Spike. Throughout the show Murphy changes the style of the narrative, including panto-style parodies of rock songs and chalk and talk jokey lectures on a project screen at the back of the stage.

Murphy joyfully punctures the programme’s convoluted plots about Buffy being killed off twice only to be revived, unrealistic government agencies who are baddies, and the extraordinary invention of Buffy’s younger sister Dawn, a character who never appeared in the early series. It’s an open goal really, but Murphy scores a lot of goals. Buffy Revamped will entertain more than fans.

NB Buffy Revamped is at the Newbury Corn Exchange on Tuesday 10 September.