Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton Review

Reviewed by Kelly Dewey

I enjoy visiting the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, the staff are always friendly and helpful and the environment is always clean and pleasant.

This time we went to see the musical Dreamboats and Petticoats, inspired by the smash hit multi-million selling albums of the same name. This time there were bag checks as you went in which was reassuring. We arrived after the crowds so I’m not sure how this impacted on getting into the venue and to your seats on time. There is good parking 5 minutes walk away in a multi storey car park. We were a couple of minutes late to arrive, as the show had already began, the usher took us to our seats once there was a pause in the performance for the audience to applause. I thought this was considerate to the people already watching the show and made no difference to us – we just had to stand at the back for a few minutes but still got to watch the show.

I took my 7-year-old daughter (the show is recommended for ages 10+ with parental guidance) and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Set in 1961 the story follows young musicians Norman and Bobby competing to win a national song writing competition and the affections of Sue. The songs were catchy and enjoyable for someone who didn’t know them. There was a good mix of acting and songs for a musical. Sometimes there can be signing for the sake of singing and can be too cheesy for my liking. I really enjoyed this show though. The actors were cast well and were believable. There was a good amount of humour and ironic lines throughout in this love story featuring some of the greatest hits of rock ‘n’ roll.

I would definitely recommend both the venue and this particular show.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £19.50 to £36.50 (booking fees may apply).

Dreamboats and Petticoats is at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton from 22-26 August 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit www.mayflower.org.uk or call the box office on 02380 711811.

Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE | 02380 711811