By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN? Thursday 16 July and runs through 15 August 2026 RUNTIME: 75 minutes (without interval)

Galvin (pictured above left) makes his London theatre debut while his husband Ben Platt is about to open across town in new musical Midnight At The Never Get at the Menier Chocolate Factory.

• Read on for reasons including how Hit Machine is smart, funny and bursting with songs

He plays Alex, less successful younger brother to Josh Radnor’s Wes, who is a music mogul in an eight-bedroomed mansion deserted by his immediate family troubled by a rapper in a studio desperate for a hit after a social media spat gone viral.

The writing by Jonathan Caren is perhaps the least interesting element of this 3-hander about the music business which uses the spark of creativity as a device to unpack and deal with the siblings’ shared emotional trauma.

The best thing about Hit Machine is the fun Galvin and Radnor have with an onstage keyboard as Wes tries to hone Alex’s undoubted songwriting talent before an unexpected visit by the aforementioned rapper D-Fi, given a convincing turn by Khalil Madovi, leads to a musical stand-off between the brothers.

Hit Machine benefits greatly from featuring original music by three-time Grammy Award winner Ben Harper and the showstopping performance by rapper D-Fi of his chosen song at the play’s end is the most authentic piece of this uneven show.

Hit Machine feels like a very American story to have reached a British stage although Radnor’s Wes reminds of the ridiculousness of The X Factor‘s Simon Cowell which casts doubt on the credibility of a rapper like D-Fi wanting to be managed by him.

It’s the puppy-ish enthusiasm of Galvin’s underdog Alex which gives us something to root for and the comedy he brings to the part which endears him to us and makes the audience want him to find success at the expense of his arrogant brother.

Of course there’s much more back story to explore in this tale of sibling rivalry and ultimately it’s the brothers’ shared love of the creative process which can be their salvation.

Hit Machine isn’t quite the success that Midnight At The Never Get is but Galvin should definitely be proud of his London debut.

If you’re interested in the music business, it’s more likely to hit home with the current fad for collaborators and songs written to order yet appearing to be authentic neatly skewered.

We last saw Madovi in Chadwick Boseman’s much underrated Deep Azure and, although Hit Machine isn’t quite the hit that was, it’s smart, funny and bursting with songs.

• Main pictures via Facebook by Bautista Araya courtesy Soho Theatre Tickets
• Have you seen a Noah Galvin show before and what did you think of it? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this preview? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook