The Bodyguard The Musical, Southampton Mayflower
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Amy Dixon
Wow what a fantastic opening night of The Bodyguard at The Mayflower theatre in Southampton. I was gifted 2 tickets to review the hit musical show and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Bodyguard the musical is based on the Warner Brothers film – The Bodyguard. For a Monday opening night the theatre was packed, which shows the high acclaim the international show has gathered from its west end production. The stars of the cast are Australian Idol’s Emily Williams and Emmerdale’s Ayden Callaghan playing the roles of Rachel Marron and Frank Farmer respectively. Emily Williams voice was stunning throughout the show, with the powerhouse numbers – ‘I will always love you’ to the softer ‘Greatest love of all’, a beautiful range with a different spin on some of the numbers from the film version. Emily-Mae starred as Nicki Marron on the opening night and had an equally fantastic voice, reaching the high notes and harmonising beautifully with her on stage sister for some of the ballads.
The show has a huge array of musical numbers from the heart wrenching ballads to the energetic medleys and dance routines. It was hard to stop yourself from singing along to some of the well known songs – although there were a few announcements before the show started and during the interval to remind the audience that participation was not allowed and to enjoy the performance from the stars on stage.
The dancers and choreography were fantastic, visually both in costume design and energy. For those that appreciate the male dancers physique you won’t be disappointed, at times you could be mistaken for feeling like you had stepped into a Magic Mike performance…with the ripped bodies on show.
The show is a musical thriller, so there were some jumpy moments and scenes depicting violence so the 10+ age guidance seems reasonable for the show, although they were not visually disturbing –but I certainly jumped at the beginning – much to my friends amusement.
The show follows the premise from the film but with tweaks and some changes to fit in with a stage production, however the script is easy to follow and has a clear story running throughout the musical numbers.
The supporting cast had some good one liners and comedy to lighten the mood for some scenes and although not a great depth of character they were clear roles within the production. Sy Spector – played by James Groom really showed the incessant nature of working within the music industry and Tony Scibelli played by Grahem Elwell the downtrodden security frustrated with Frank Farmer belittling his safety measures.
Lastly the fantastic, energetic performance from Sam Stevens starring as Fletcher, he was brilliant and believable as the son, and really seemed to thrive in the dance routines and singing parts on stage –a star to watch out for in the future.
The Mayflower and presenting The Bodyguard the musical from 30th October to Saturday 4th November, to get your tickets please follow the link https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/bodyguard-2023/ , prices range from £24.50 to £49.50,
I wouldn’t hesitate to go and watch the show again, it was a fabulous evening, with fantastic musical performances and dances.
https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/bodyguard-2023
Rating: 5/5