Esme Bowdler, Jenna Innes, Sedona Sky and Daisy Twells in Heathers The Musical at @sohoplace, London and Touring. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Heathers The Musical was reviewed at @sohoplace, London where it continues until 6 July 2024. The tour continues until until 23 November 2024.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★★
Following seasons at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, two national tours and record-breaking runs at London’s The Other Palace, Heathers The Musical is back. With a brand-new cast, including 13 performers making their West End debuts, the popular show has taken up residence at @sohoplace. Productions at this relatively new space have usually been staged in the round, but the auditorium has been reconfigured on this occasion with the audience on three sides of the stage. The intimate theatre turns out to be a fitting backdrop for this dark musical set at Westerberg High.
The young cast brings great energy to this slick production which feels fresh and new despite its 1980s setting and looks spectacularly colourful thanks to the set and costume design by David Shields.
Jenna Innes stars as Veronica Sawyer, taking on Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe’s technically challenging score with confidence. She is perfectly cast in the role, exposing all the vulnerabilities of the character.
Esme Bowdler, a recent runner-up in ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, brings all the power, status and meanness to Heather Chandler with an intimidatingly strong performance. Sedona Sky as Heather Duke and Daisy Twells as Heather McNamara also impress with their characterisations and support their counterparts well. The trio’s electric rendition of ‘Candy Store’ affirms why the number is a firm fan favourite.
Keelan McAuley gives a cool portrayal of bad boy Jason ‘J.D.’ Dean. He could have even gone to another level with his mischievousness, given that his character is the driving force behind the murders in the musical. The sound mixing also let down McAuley (and other members of the cast) sometimes with the volume of the band overpowering the vocals.
Amy Miles in the role of Martha Dunnstock performs ‘Kindergarten Boyfriend’ faultlessly and Lucy Sinclair adds comedy to the proceedings with her take on Ms Fleming.
What shines so much is the choreography by Gary Lloyd which each cast member uses effectively to portray their characters. The Heathers and Veronica successfully assert their dominance through movement and the cast makes good use of the levels that the set offers. A special mention goes to the talented Iván Fernández González and Jason Battersby who play Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney – the slapstick jocks with attitude. They make use of every moment they have on the stage with hilarious physical comedy.
Extra praise must also be awarded to the cast and crew members who did not let an emergency fire alarm during the interval, resulting in the evacuation of the entire building out into the rain, affect their work onstage and backstage!
Director Andy Fickman continues to delight fans with his musical adaptation of the 1989 film written by Daniel Waters. It’s great to see that its cult following, loyal since the show’s West End debut in 2018, is still here for it.
Rebecca Sinclair
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