Review: INSANE ANIMALS Original Cast Recording, Bourgeois & Maurice

Photo credit: Gustavo Papaleo

The kooky duo of Bourgeois & Maurice have brought us an original cast recording of their musical comedy Insane Animals, which ran for three weeks at Manchester’s HOME in March 2020 and became one of the venue’s best-selling shows to date. 

Performed by a cast of eight, Bourgeois & Maurice take centre stage as two hyper-glam aliens who “come from out of space to save the human race”.  The story begins with humans facing extinction from many sources and hope lies in the past in the shape of ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’. Gilgamesh was told to love Enkidu “like a wife” and created the world’s first queer love story. When Enkidu is killed, Gilgamesh goes on a quest to defeat death. Cue a time-travelling journey to the future when Gilgamesh discovers a strange and terrifying new world of science, technology, and transhumanism, with a little help from Bourgeois & Maurice.

To akin this Original Cast Recording to one definitive style would be to do it an injustice, as this musical recording ticks every box. There’s rap, ballads and pop-Eurovision disco hits, all with witty lyrics that any comedian would be proud of.  Not only are the songs funny but they also carry a message with every punchline, highlighting the problems we have in society. 

‘Brink of Extinction’ kicks off the album in an upbeat and euro-pop fashion and really creates a feel-good mood for the rest of the album. The lyrics are clever, the beat is catchy and it brings a smile to your face in the first song. 

Other highlights on the album include the wonderful ballad ‘Gay For You’, sung by Lockie Chapman as Galgamesh and Kayed Mohamed-Mason as Enkidu, and is about discovering their feelings for one another and the fact that they are “gay for each other”. Bourgeois intervenes and the second half of the song is less ballad and more upbeat club track that would not be out of place at a Pride parade. Chapman also gets chance to show off his vocals in the album’s other big ballad ‘I Don’t Want To Get Old’, which is a raw and beautiful song about the fears we all possess about growing older. 

‘Welcome to Today’ is the wittiest song on the album with it being a condensed version of the earth and religion’s history, complete with tongue-twisting lyrics and a snappy tune. ‘The Problem with Death’ and ‘Paradise in Eternal Life’ are also exceptional song choices with creative lyrics. 

The story is easy to follow across the album, which isn’t always the case on cast recordings, and although some of the songs have some explicit content, for the most part the songs are clean and funny. 

George Heyworth & Liv Morris, who created Borgeois & Maurice, have spent three years writing and developing their show to be the jam-packed satirical musical recording that it is. Sharp, witty and fresh of breath air to listen to.

Insane Animals is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube Music and all other major music streaming platforms.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Emma Littler