Beverley Knight in The Bodyguard at the Dominion Theatre, London. Picture: Alessandro Pinna
The Bodyguard continues at the Dominion Theatre, London until 7 January, 2017.
Rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Thea Sharrock’s production of The Bodyguard returns to the West End at the Dominion Theatre with Beverley Knight once again blowing the audience away in the lead role.
The Queen of British Soul first played Oscar-nominated superstar Rachel Marron in 2013. At the Dominion, her warmth as an actress, combined with some signature powerful vocals, prove that this is the perfect role for an outstanding performer.
The atmosphere in the theatre completely changes as soon as the audience has its first glimpse of Knight, taking a sassy stance in a gorgeous gold outfit. The atmosphere from then on in doesn’t change until the performance has finished, with everyone in the theatre mesmerised by the artist’s amazing vocals (they simply make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck!).
Rachel John, as Nicki Marron, also demonstrates her supreme vocals to the audience. From the start, we follow the journey of this likeable character, but one stuck living in her sister’s shadow. Our hearts go out to her when she also falls for the mysterious ‘Bodyguard’. Both Knight and John perform a breathtaking duet to ‘Run to You’ which is simply beautiful.
Not forgetting Ben Richards, playing Frank Farmer, the straight-talking but warm bodyguard, hired to protect Rachel from a stalker who has broken into her dressing room and house. We see him let his guard down when he gets to know Jaden Oshenye’s Fletcher, Rachel’s son. The cute Jaden really wins over the audience with many cheers and ‘ahhs’ as he graces the stage.
The karaoke bar scene particularly captures the humour of the piece when a group of girls sing in and out of tune (it probably reminded many audience members of their own past exploits!). Also good fun is the time when stern Farmer takes to the stage to sing Whitney Houston’s famous ‘I Will Always Love You’.
Tim Hatley’s set is simple but effective, with vertical and horizontal lights/sliding doors indicating scene changes, and these work well with the business and energy from the ensemble.
The ensemble members make the scenes upbeat, helped by Karen Bruce’s fantastic choreography, all working hand in hand with the popular dance songs of Houston which get everyone in the audience moving in their seats too!
Knight closed the performance with ‘I Will Always Love You’ and received a standing ovation. The whole audience then danced along with the cast to ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody.’
Molly Kerrigan
Tickets for The Bodyguard are available HERE.
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