Review: HIT MACHINE at Soho Theatre

Hit Machine explores the relationship between two brothers, older, successful, music producer Wes (Josh Radnor) and younger, aspiring but struggling musician Alex (Noah Galvin). Their relationship is clearly strained, with Wes viewing Alex as childish. Alex’s arrival on Wes’ doorstep is an inconvenience, and he’s critical of Alex’s life choices. Alex, on the other hand, looks to Wes for guidance, yearning for the days they would make music together, before a wedge drove them apart. Where Wes is locked into his phone, fielding calls and texts from big clients, Alex just wants to be heard. They find themselves stuck in a cycle: when they can find the peace in their relationship to sit down and create music, they find a flow and a rhythm together, but a wrong word brings past wounds up to the surface, and the mutual ground they’ve found collapses like a house of cards.

When Defy (Khalil Madovi), Wes’ client and one of Alex’s favourite musicians, gets himself into public trouble, he confesses to Wes that he’s fallen out of touch with music and the reasons he started creating it in the first place. He finds himself stuck between the brothers, toying between Wes’ desire to create chart-topping hits and Alex’s instinct to make music from his heart. To get Defy back on top, Wes and Alex either have to put their differences aside or finally face the memories that made them fall apart all those years ago.

The portrayal of sibling relationships was incredibly raw and realistic. Wes and Alex struggle to come to terms with upsetting events from their childhood, and they both have starkly different relationships with and feelings towards their parents. It’s the music and the happy memories surrounding it that tie them together even when they feel so far apart from understanding each other.

The original music, written by Ben Harper, CJ Harper and Khalil Madovi, was layered with soul and feeling, and it belongs on streaming platforms as much as it does on a stage. The music connects all three characters, and you can hear each of their influence individually as they come together to form one cohesive sound. The songs are catchy and groovy, and you’ll have them on repeat in your head for the rest of the day.

Overall, Hit Machine is the perfect show for music buffs, delving deep into what it takes to make a smash hit and create a song with soul. It is comedic yet ultimately tender and relatable, demonstrating that music has the power to unite us when life tries to tear us apart.

Hit Machine Tickets