Theatre

Sister Act At The Mayflower, Southampton Review

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

Reviewed by Helen O

Having loved the movie, Sister Act in the 1990’s, we jumped at the chance to watch and review the 2023 Olivier Award nominated production of the UK and Broadway smash hit musical of the same name.

We parked just around the corner from the Mayflower and paid £2 to park for the evening, which is an absolute bargain. Traffic coming into Southampton was quiet and we had a nice easy drive to and from the theatre from nearby Bournemouth. Our visit couldn’t have gone more smoothly.

We were seated in the Dress Circle C41 and C42, which gave us a brilliant view of the stage and we could also see the orchestra too, which was great. We had received e-tickets for the performance, well in advance and were able to check the location of our seats as soon as they arrived. The seating plan is available on the Mayflower’s website, which greatly assists in choosing your desired tickets, to make the most of the performance.

The Theatre itself is a grand old building, set out with stalls, dress circle, rear circle and balcony, all providing excellent viewing for the stage. However, I could have done with slightly more leg room, but that’s a minor issue. I have visited the theatre a few times previously and have always been able to view the performance well, with seating in a number of different of locations.

I was excited to see TV legend Lesley Joseph taking to the stage as Mother Superior, having grown up watching her as Dorien Green on Birds of a Feather. She played the role perfectly, as I never had any doubt that she would and remained true to the movie, where the role was played by the equally wonderful Dame Maggie Smith.

Lizzie Bea, another West End favourite also appears as Sister Mary Robert and was quite frankly amazing. Her rendition of “The Life I Never Led”, was spine-tingling and received rapturous applause from the audience. Totally outstanding.

And the spectacular Sandra Marvin, takes the lead role as the one and only Disco Diva Deloris Van Cartier aka Sister Mary Clarence! Certainly giving the fantastic Whoopi Goldberg a run for her money! What. A. Voice. All of her numbers were delivered effortlessly.

The show stays true to the original movie, it’s often a worry that they will stray too far from a much-loved film, but happily I didn’t have to worry too much about that! The premise of the show is that in 1970’s Philadelphia, singer Deloris inadvertently witnesses a murder and she is placed in protective custody and hidden in the last place that she would be expected to be found…a convent! Whilst she is there, she is encouraged to help her ‘fellow’ sisters with their struggling choir. In reluctantly doing so, she helps them find their voices and also rediscovers her own. It is basically a heart-warming story of sisterhood and friendship.

There was amazingly high energy from the cast from the minute they burst onto the stage, the same energy carried the whole way through the performance. Absolutely outstanding. So many laugh out loud moments. The comedy was provided from all angles, the brilliant nuns providing fantastic entertainment, Mother Superior and her ascorbic wit, devious Curtis Jackson and his bumbling trio of Pablo, Joey & TJ and not to mention Deloris herself.

One of the standout comedy moments was delivered by the fantastic Clive Rowe, as ‘Steady’ Eddie Souther, the Policeman helping Deloris, I won’t spoil the surprise, but it really was hilarious. The equally fantastic Graham MacDuff was also brilliantly entertaining as Monsignor O’Hara.

The finale was rousing and practically raised the roof. So colourful, musical and quite frankly joyful. I felt so exhilarated when I left the auditorium. The show is so uplifting, joyous and fun, it’s impossible not to have thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

The show features original music by Tony and Oscar award-winner Alan Menken and songs inspired by Motown, soul and disco, which are certain to get you toe-tapping, at the very least. The only thing which was missing was any nods to the original movie score. I would have loved to have heard a rendition of “I will follow him”, but that may be just because it was my favourite from the movie.

The show started on time and with a 20 minute interval around halfway through the performance, the total performance running time was approx. 2 hours 20 mins.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Price of tickets: Tickets start from £29.50 to £54.50 depending on day and time of the performance.

The show is on at The Mayflower Theatre between 2nd and 6th May 2023

Tickets can be booked by visiting https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/sister-act-2023/

The Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE

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