The Bodyguard at The Hawth Crawley Review
The Bodyguard
The Hawth, Crawley
24 November to 5 December 2015
Reviewed by Amanda Hayes
What a fabulous evening we had watching the fantastic performance of The Bodyguard at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley, West Sussex. Situated just ten minutes from Gatwick Airport, with very easy access to the M23 motorway and plenty of free parking The Hawth is a great theatre to watch any show. Unfortunately, the car park was packed to overflowing, an indictment of the popularity of the show, and it took a lot of toing and froing before everyone was parked albeit up kerbs and on the grass areas. Once inside, picking our up tickets was quick and easy and we were soon seated in the rear stalls, which has a fantastic view of the stage. Unlike some theatres there isn’t actually a bad seat in the house and the acoustics are fabulous. During the interval The Hawth has plenty of seating in and nearby the bar area and the bar is well-stocked including a selection of lovely local ice creams to purchase.
The show starts with gunfire making the audience jump out of their seats and from that moment on you don’t take your eyes of the stage. Alexandra Burke is simply stunning as Rachel Marron, playing the part of a diva pop star brilliantly. Although she sings all the Whitney Houston songs without fault she makes them her own, adding a different tone to the music whilst keeping all the emotion.
Stuart Reid plays a great part as Frank Farmer, The Bodyguard, he is no Kevin Costner but is professional character actor. Together with a convincing with Melissa James playing jealous sister Nikki Marron they add enormously to the storyline. A huge mention has to go out to the dancers in the show, they are absolutely fabulous, dancing almost nonstop with passion and enthusiasm.
The stage performance follows the original film storyline closely with no added extra’s so any Bodyguard fans out there will not be disappointed. If you get chance I recommend purchasing a programme as there are lots of fascinating facts about the film in there.
We had a fabulous evening watching and listening to the amazing performance of the Bodyguard, the film may end in a sad way but the grand finale stage version is truly upbeat with all cast members on stage, singing and dancing, even ones that can’t sing!
The Bodyguard is running from 24th November to the 5th December at The Hawth so get your tickets quickly as its bound to be a sold out show.
Highly recommended.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £35 to £45 (booking fees may apply).
The Bodyguard is at The Hawth in Crawley until 5 December 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01293 553636.
The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Sussex, RH10 6YZ | 01293 553636
