THEATRE REVIEWS

By Tim Baros

Dirty Dancing

There’s a lot of dancing in ‘Dirty Dancing,’ and it’s a bit dirty - but will you have the time of your life?

Returning back to the London stage (now playing at the Dominion Theatre), ‘Dirty Dancing’ will be one for the jukebox musical lovers (out of towners and tourists), but not for the die hard theatre goers.

It’s the late 1960’s and ‘Baby’ (Kira Malou) and her family are vacationing in the Catskills (upper New York State resort). They partake in all the activities the resort has to offer, including dancing, and Baby takes up a dancing class with Johnny Castle (Michael O’Reilly) as she really, really fancies him. And as many of you have seen the film with Patrick Swayze and Jenifer Grey you all know how it plays out.

Bonnie & Clyde

Bonnie & Clyde are back in the West End with their crime and murder spree, but this time they are on a rampage in a much larger venue.

Last year their crimes took place at The Arts Theatre, now it’s at the much larger Garrick - and opening night proved a major draw (attendees included Luke Evans and Rhydian).

Luke Gordon Gage and Francis Mayli McCann reprise their roles as Clyde and Bonnie, though as Bonnie prefers ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ in a production that pulls out all the stops in telling the true story of America’s most famous crime couple.

Sweet and innocent Bonnie lives with her mother (father is deceased), and then one day meets Clyde Barrow, who along with his brother Buck (George Maguire) are career criminals, much to the dismay of their mother (Pippa Winslow) and Buck’s wife Blanche (Jodie Steele). Bonnie & Clyde start their relationship nice and sweet, but eventually Bonnie gets caught up in the crimes of her husband and soon enough she’s in it for the long haul. And there’s no turning back when Clyde kills a policeman so the couple have to live life on the run.

Bonnie & Clyde was so successful in its first run that it’s great to see it come back. While Mayli is good, no one can match the voice and energy and performance of Gagethe show is his (previously he was Romeo in ‘& Juliet’, but this time he’s the star). Gage belts out one in ‘Raise a Little Hell’ and ‘Bonnie’, while Steele steels scenes away from Maguire and Mayli - Steele has been in many shows and her experience shows.

While nothing can replace the masterpiece of the film (Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty), this production is well done and an able starter for people who haven’t seen the film and don’t know much about the gun-slinging murderous couple of the 1950’s.

Bonnie & Clyde is playing until May 20, 2023. www.bonnieandclydemusical.com

But in this theatre production, Malou looks way to young to play Baby, and O’Reilly is too chiselled (and too stiff) to play Johnny (he has an obligatory underwear scene that’s actually a bit cringe worthy). They both can dance their hearts out (as do the rest of the cast - especially Charlotte Gooch as Penny - she’s the best of the lot, as are the vocals provided by the house band called Kellerman’s Band). But it’s a short run (in London until April 29th, 2023 before heading off on tour again). The music is singalong and the set and sound are adequate for the huge stage. It may not be for the purists, but it is a fun and uncomplicated musical and for many I am sure going will be ‘the time of their lives’. www.dirtydancingonstage.co.uk/west-end/