Police Cops: The Musical is an entertaining show, but there’s room for improvement – review
The Police Cops brand has evolved over the last few years with multiple iterations, but the 2023 edition – which has just spent a month in Edinburgh at the Fringe, and has now opened in London at the Southwark Playhouse – is the first musical version.
The show has been created by Zachary Hunt, Nathan Parkinson and Tom Roe, who have written the book and lyrics, and who also co-direct and star in the show, with music by Ben Adams.
Ben, of A1 fame, has previously written the songs for the musical Eugenius, which we reviewed earlier this year. Musically the shows are similar, full of big ‘80s rock anthems and power ballads.
For those unfamiliar with the Police Cops concept, it’s heavily inspired by 1980s cop shows and action movies. This musical tells the story of Jimmy Johnson (Zachary Hunt), who sets out on a quest to become ‘the best police cop ever’; over the course of two hours we see his tale unfold, involving a corrupt police chief, a Mexican drugs baron and a former high-school flame who is now a nursery nurse, but who also harbours aspirations to become a cop.
