Hit Machine

Soho Theatre

Playing until 15th August 2026

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Photo credit: Bautista Araya

{PR Gifted ticket}

Following a turbulent past and a long time apart, Alex (Noah Galvin), a hip and alternative musician, comes to visit his brother, Wes (Josh Radnor). Unlike Alex, Wes has forged a successful career as a music producer and recently moved into a glamorous mansion with his family. Through shared trauma and the lasting impact made by their abusive father, the brothers begin to show signs of reconnection, but challenged by their differences in their outlook on life and artistic pursuits.

During the course of the show, the brothers constantly bicker, stirring up their emotions as Alex reveals the reason he came to visit, seeking help to produce music that he could take to a music producer and also financial support to help their mother’s mortgage. These requests for help are met with resistance. Even though Wes seems to be exceptionally well off, Jonathan Caren’s script gradually reveals Wes’s own insecurities and the length he went to mask this, including putting almost all he owns towards this new house as he bets his career on a new artist he just signed.

The narratives woven by Caren demonstrates fundamental imbalances in power dynamics between the brothers. Wes is the one maintaining control of situations and has the final say on almost all matters. During the course of the play, Wes showcases his dominance through his wealth, influence and eventually, superior physical strength. Though attempts were made by Alex to get back at his brother, including sabotaging Wes’s meeting with his main artist, Defy the Leader (Khalil Madovi), these tended to be rather minor disturbances that served little more than a bump on the road. All of these culminate in an explosive showdown between the brothers as their respective career are put on the line.

While the premise is robust, the journey to the finish line needs some refinement. This is particularly the case in the first quarter of the show, where the message and direction of progress was shrouded in too much mystery. The true events start to unfold after the arrival of Defy and Alex’s interruption of the business meeting. It is after this point that the story begins to take off. To make up for lost time, the script and actors work hard to heavy handedly inject emotions and conflicts to ensure progress the story in the second half, rushing its way to reconcile the brothers’ relationship to create too perfect of an ending.

Hit Machine presents light humour between the brothers on the outset, an uptight and logical Wes vs the carefree Alex, locking horns over their artistic differences. Under Daniel Bailey’s direction, Galvin and Radnor are quick to pick up on each other’s cues, throwing jabs at each to create humour, creating an equally light hearted and tense atmosphere, highlighting something awkward and amiss in the brothers’ relationship. Galvin in particular, felt more nuanced and is able to draw upon his character’s awkwardness and vulnerability when the plot demands them.

Hit Machine attempts to bring the story of a dysfunctional family to the stage, one littered with pressure from the creative industry. Though music serves as an important element of the show, the key components of the play lie in the characters’ vulnerability, trauma and fear of rejection. While this play hits some of the right notes, it is certainly not pitch perfect.

Creatives

Writer: Jonathan Caren

Director: Daniel Bailey

Set & Costume Designer: Amelia Jane Hankin

Lighting Designer: Laura Howard

Sound Designer: Khalil Madovi

Original music: Ben Harper and CJ Harper