Heathers The Musical, Kings Theatre Portsmouth Review
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 show! I had the opportunity to go along and review the opening night of Heathers The Musical at the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth tonight. I took my 15 year old son with me, as we had never watched the show before I was apprehensive as it had a 14+ age rating. However I would highly recommend as we both loved the dark humour in the show.
Yes there are references to suicide, eating disorders, murder, sexual content, violence and teenage angst throughout the show but these are definitely in keeping with the dark humour and not over played.
We likened the concept to a mix-up of very dark versions of Mean girls/Grease and High School Musical. Having very vague recollections of the film (watched many years ago), the adaptation for the theatre Musical show are lost on me. However from recollection the show seems much more light-hearted with excellent musical numbers with well-choreographed performances.
The costumes were in keeping with the 80’s America era and the set had clear transitions between scenes with cast members seamlessly moving set pieces whilst leaving the stage.
My favourite song of the show was Martha ‘Dumptruck’ (Played by Amy Miles) rendition of Kindergarten Boyfriend. She had such a clear voice and you could feel the emotion in the performance, the words were equally thoughtful if not a little creepy at times.
Equally entertaining was the performance of ‘My Dead Gay Son’ by Conor McFarlane and Alexander Service, with cheers from the audience throughout.
Jenna Innes (Veronika Sawyer) and Keelan McAuley (Jason Dean) had really good chemistry on stage and were a believable angsty teenage couple, both with powerful singing voices and with a vast amount of lines to be remembered.
The 3 Heathers were definitely a force to be reckoned with and you could believe the power trip vibes shown through their performances on stage. Daisy Twells (Heather McNamara) version of ‘Lifeboat’ was beautiful and for me had the stronger voice of the 3 Heathers.
Sedona Sky (Heather Duke) and Esme Bowdler (Heather Chandler) had great stage presence and the choreography was flawless for their dances. It was particularly entertaining having Esme Bowdler (Heather Chandler) popping up in scenes with catty comments in the conscience of Jenna Innes (Veronika Sawyer). Equally entertaining was Ivan Fernandez Gonzalez (Kurt Kelly) and Jason Battersby (Ram Sweeney) popping up on stage in their underwear to torment the conscience of Jenna Innes (Veronika Sawyer).
Overall we laughed, were a little shocked, my teen possibly a little embarrassed, throughout the show, it was certainly wildly entertaining and not a cheesy musical, although 22 songs throughout the 2hr 20 minute show, these were each entertaining and relevant to the story being told. The cast all had fantastic voices and wowed us with their solo numbers as well as the choral pieces. Although there were dark themes throughout, it wasn’t frightening or graphic, mixed with humour it worked well. We would definitely watch again.
Rating: 5/5.
Tickets cost from £12.50.
Heathers The Musical is at The Kings Theatre Portsmouth from Tuesday 6th to Saturday 10th August 2024.
For more information or to book tickets visit https://www.kingsportsmouth.co.uk/booking/?instances-id=320404 or call the box office on 02392 82 8282
Kings Theatre Portsmouth, Kings Theatre, Albert Road, Southsea, PO5 2QJ.