Thrown Together Theatre and The Dalian Players 
Woolston Methodist Church, Itchen 
Mark Ponsford 
4 October 2025
One of my favourite quotes, courtesy of Charles Dickens, is “These accidental parties are always the pleasantest”, and it was thanks to an accidental quirk of fate that I was afforded the opportunity to review this (comparatively) new musical, now reworked following its initial airing in 2019 at the much-missed Nuffield Theatre. The creation and promotion of New Musicals is always a cause for rejoicing (Aardvarks Can’t Jump Productions’ series of New MT writing and performances at the Southampton Stage Door is consistently to be commended in this respect), and it’s a joy when a new work is given a full airing. Big Mouse Strikes Again, in a co-production from Dalian Players and the show’s creative team, Thrown Together Theatre, has been given as spectacular a production as Woolston Methodist Church can comfortably accommodate, and for me, this “accidental party” was more than merely pleasant. This one is an absolute hoot from start to finish.
Some shows (as I’m sure many of us would agree) are frankly as mad as a box of frogs, and I hope the Big Mouse writers (book by Rob Franks and the boys from Thrown Together Theatre collectively, music and lyrics by Andrew Fisher) will forgive me when I say that their creation is as mad as at least fifty boxes of the little blighters, such is the level of invention throughout. Part musical, part panto, part whodunit, even part film-noir, and with more plot twists (or should that be cheese twists?) than you can keep up with, it’s a unique experience to say the least. It’s also a very difficult show to review without resorting to “spoilers”, and I certainly don’t intend giving anything untoward away, not least because I genuinely hope the show will return again to delight many more audiences. Suffice to say that somewhere in the Town of Dairy (cue more cheese-based jokes and puns than you can shake a cocktail stick at), there’s a serious and unidentified saboteur who’s up to no good at all, and it might be a race against time to bring him/her/it to justice. The score is infectiously melodic – chances are, you won’t get the title song out of your head for days – and for connoisseurs of sheer camp, another of the highlights is ‘Mice Are Nice’, which in itself ought to give you a pretty sound idea of what you’re in for.
The book/script veers between flat-out funny and wickedly subtle – there are (and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise) some glorious innuendos to be heard, but, rather like the mice, you need to be quick to catch them. (A close inspection of the set, before the show commences, might also cause the odd raised eyebrow, although basically, and happily, this is a show for all the family.) The design, spectacular and detailed, serves the production splendidly, as do the many excellent costumes, all of which come courtesy of James Henderson.
The show is described as a Comedy Musical as opposed to Musical Comedy, and I’d say that’s more than justified. There’s a heightened sense of reality throughout, and the company have been well directed by Rob Franks, not only with regard to individual characterisation, but with regard to playing even the most ludicrous moments for real. Spoofs often work best when played straight, and the discipline evident throughout the company is clear to see, with not one involuntary smirk or giggle throughout. (Myself, I’d never have made it!) The style (and trust me, this is one massive compliment) is reminiscent of that adopted by the original Broadway production of Urinetown, with which it also shares an occasionally dark satirical edge – politics, as always, a guaranteed source of rueful laughter.
As Ollie, the hero of the tale, Mark Jones turns in a wonderfully winning performance, with a comic talent well beyond his years, and he’s partnered by Ren Belward as Lily, the Mayor’s daughter, who’s charming, funny and touching all at once. Ben Royce-Taylor’s absurdly po-faced Detective splendidly establishes the style of the piece; and Bran Franks is a glorious Mayor, both he and Royce-Taylor landing every line to maximum comic effect. Among the many other delightful performances on display, Sam Grace’s Fanny is hilarious, and no, I’m not going to rephrase that.
If I’m to make one critical point – which I do with the greatest of respect – it would be with regard to the overall length of the show. Cracking piece though this is, it’s also currently a very long one, and I’d like to think that the creative team, as a result of its latest outing, might take this into account. It certainly doesn’t need butchering, because it’s all good material, but perhaps some judicious trimming throughout might, in addition to bringing down the overall running time, make the show both faster and even funnier. I’d dearly love to see it produced again. I’m so glad I’ve seen this current production, which in addition to its many merits, stands as a terrific collaboration between Dalian Players and Thrown Together Theatre, who together have given us all a terrific and wildly entertaining production of excellent standard, an absolute snip at just £10 a ticket. I’ve never been much of a cheese fan, but I’m proud to count myself as a genuine fan of this shamelessly bonkers romp.
