Reviewed by Kelly Dewey
As always, the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton is always a pleasure to visit, its location means there are plenty of options for travelling there and you can find various car parks in the area within a short walk to the theatre. There are also plenty of restaurants around the area. The staff are always welcoming and informative, and the facilities are clean and well kept. On this occasion we sat in the rear circle, for the first time I found the leg room was a little tight compared to other locations in the theatre. It was extremely hot up there seeing as it was a fresh November evening. I wouldn’t like to sit on the upper levels during the summer months.
The show was very enjoyable, it was fun, light hearted and pink and fluffy. The sets were simple but in my option, it allowed you to concentrate on the actors and the storyline. The actors were cast well and suited their roles well. I wasn’t familiar with Rita Simmons who plays a part in EastEnders, as I don’t watch the soap, but her singing in particular was very good. I think the part of Professor Callahan could have been more powerful and sinister throughout – it came as quite a surprise to me when he grabbed Elle Woods to kiss her and it was made out that it was all he was interested in all the while, but this wasn’t brought through enough throughout the production.
There were many funny moments throughout the show, in particular in the courtroom when they sang a song wondering if the witness was gay or just European. I was impressed by the girl who played Brooke, the wife who was accused of murdering her husband. During the song ‘ whipped into shape’ she seamlessly sang the whole thing whilst doing a vigorous skipping routine. I was cheering her on whilst munching on my minstrels thinking I really should start a fitness routine.
The show stealers were the two dogs. I thought it was very brave to work with the live animals, but they got the audience cooing and ahhhh’ing. They had small appearances throughout and didn’t seem distressed at all.
Overall the show was a crowd pleaser and got everybody clapping and dancing by the end of it.
Rating: 4/5
For other shows at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton visit www.mayflower.org.uk.
Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE | 02380 711811
