The Bodyguard 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 Zoey Caldwell
The Bodyguard is an iconic 90’s movie and I was excited to see how Lawrence Kasden adapted it to the stage. The start of the show is a shocker- be warned, the women in the row in front of us were almost covered in our drinks it made us jump that much. There are a few of these shockers throughout the show so watch out for them.
The story follows Rachel Marron (Sidonie Smith) an Emmy winning singer sing writer whose life changes when a stalker turns into an imminent threat. Reluctantly bodyguard Frank Farmer (Adam Garcia) takes on the role to protect Rachel and her family. Rachel is not happy about his arrival and shows Frank the cold shoulder and to stay tells him to stay away from her and her son Fletcher. However, Fletcher soon grows a bond with Frank.
Not knowing the extent of the threat to her Rachel is indignant to Frank’s ideas and how to keep her safe and really is not very nice to him at all. Her sister Nicki (Sasha Monique) on the other hand develops quite a crush and is devastated when the unlikely romance forms between Rachel and Frank. The way that the threat is portrayed is quite chilling- the stalker (James-Lee Harris) plays the bad guy perfectly. There are Criminal Mind vibes with him being profiled very cleverly!
The Bodyguard is full of Whitney’s iconic tunes and Sidonie and Sasha share them, I have to say that I prefer Sasha’s voice and in the lobby during the interval it seemed to be a common thread- Sidonie while having a great voice is loud- almost like she is shouting in some of the songs and although not fair to compare her to Whitney, she seems to really have to try to hit those notes and it is pitchy. Sasha has a softer voice, not lacking power and perhaps she cannot hit the high notes, but I don’t know why she was not cast.
There are several big show scenes when Rachel is “performing” they are loud, bright and the dancers are spectacular. When I say they are bright the lights are bright and can be quite blinding! The ensemble costumes are fantastic, and you do get a big star performing vibe.
If you do want to have a trip down memory lane and listen to wonderful Whitney Houston songs then this show is for you- watch out for the girls singing Karaoke- pretty much sounded like car journey home after, comedy gold. Also, I have to say that Fletcher (Rachel’s son) stole the show on many occasions and received quite the applause at the end of the show. The show is a mixture of Whitney’s faster hits and some really touching ballads. The Bodyguard is a homage to Whitney and love story that she played in the original movie- the adaptation has been done well but I was not blown away in the way that I had hoped. Saying that the theatre up on their feet to ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ at the end was a lot of fun!
Rating: 3/5
The Bodyguard is showing at Milton Keynes Theatre from 21st October until 25th October. Ticket prices start from £43 plus £3.95 transaction fee.
For more information or to book tickets, visit https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre or call the box office on 0207 0261174.
Milton Keynes Theatre, 500 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes, MK9 3NZ