Heathers The Musical At Milton Keynes Theatre Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Amanda Dando

We arrived in Milton Keynes amidst heavy rain for the show tonight, there is plenty of parking close by, along with restaurants and bars for pre-show Food and drinks. We made a dash and were quickly inside the theatre.

I confess to knowing nothing at all about the story behind this musical, other than it’s based on a film of the same name by Daniel Waters, I had not seen the film either. There is a disclaimer in the program than lets you know the show contains loud noises including gun shots, flashing lights, strong language, mature themes, including bullying, murder, suicide, physical and sexual violence and reference to eating disorders. All of this on World Suicide Prevention Day.

There is a lot to unpack, initially I thought mean girls meets girls aloud, meets St Trinians, but as the show went on my emotions kept changing. Set in Westerberg High, it tells the story of Veronica Sawyer played wonderfully by Jenna Innes, what a voice, who feels unnoticed at high school, not one of the popular girls, and like many of our own experiences of high school, wanting to be in that prized inner circle. This show is full of dark humour and some very gritty grown up insulting language. I am not at all sure I would have taken my daughter to see this show.

The subjects are tough, and it’s hard not to take on board the strong themes tackled in the show. That said there was some gallows humour in there that made many laugh out loud. The cast are faultless, Jason ‘JD’ Dean has a fine voice, and a great stage presence. The three Heathers were made to play those girls, Esme Bowdler, Sedona Sky and Daisy Twell, thoroughly convincing as the self centred beautiful girls running the school, in as much as who they deemed worthy enough to feel popular, and those who were most certainly not. They were ably assisted by the jock popular lads Kurt Kelly played by Ivan Fernandez Gonzalez and Ram Sweeney played by Jason Battersby, their comic timing definitely worked, plus the fact they spent much of the second half of the show in just their pants and socks!

The scenery and costumes all made the story work and helped set the scene to the story. We probably all had a Martha Dunnstock played by Amy Miles in our school year, and she most certainly had my sympathies and made me want to reach out to her for the insults and bullying she had to bear. In this horrible world of social media, which wasn’t around in the era this film was set, it makes you realise how truly horrible words can be. Insults and teasing can lead to some difficult life choices. We should all strive to be kind, like manners, it costs us nothing. Although I couldn’t fault the singing the dancing and the passion up on stage, the subject matter for me was a little too dark. The audience were on their feet as soon as the show finished, and clearly the show has a huge following, well done to everyone in the cast.

Rating: 3/5

https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/heathers-the-musical/milton-keynes-theatre/

Tickets from £15.00 subject to a £3.95 transaction fee www.atgtickets.com or call the Box Office on 0800 912 6971
Heathers the Musical is at Milton Keynes Theatre Tuesday 10 September to Saturday 14 September 2024.

Milton Keynes Theatre 500 Marlborough Gate Central Milton Keynes MK9 3NZ