Heathers The Musical At Nottingham’s Theatre Royal Review

Reviewed by Louise Edwards

Heathers and Musical are not two words you would have expected to hear together when the cult American high school movie , starring Christian Slater and Winona Rider was released in the 1980s. Tackling gritty issues such as bullying, suicide, teen angst, neglect, date rape and sex the film pulled no punches.

However writers and composers Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy have definitely achieved an astounding success with this production, which won Best New Musical Award in the Whatsonstage Awards in 2019.

On taking our seat at the theatre those cheesy 80s tunes we love, blasted out transporting us back to the decade of shoulder pads and perms. The theatre was packed with energy and excitement, even on a drizzling Tuesday night, just before the return to the school term, and we knew we were going to be in for a treat.

Rebecca Wickes plays Veronica Sawyer, a sweet and likable girl who just wants to survive high school unscathed, ideally with her best friend Martha Dunnstock, played by Mhairi Angus. . High school however has other ideas and in an attempt to escape ridicule from the jocks, Kurt Kelly (played by Liam Doyle) and Ram Sweeney (played by Rory Phelan), she gets herself into the cool crowd by befriending the Heathers.

These three girls all called Heather who have formed a popularity that noone else can penetrate. Heather Chandler played by Maddison Firth is the ring leader and is drawn to Sawyer when she helps them escape a detention by faking a permission slip. Faking handwriting is Sawyer’s eventual deadly skill and one she uses to play tricks on the emotions of her former bestie Dunstock, in order to embed herself within the Heathers.

The other two Heather’s – the anorexic Duke, played by Merryl Ansah and McNamara, played by Lizzy Parker are equally as aloof with coordinated outfits and pouts. Kelly and Sweeney idolise them all.

Enter new boy, JD, the troubled teen dazzles Sawyer with his deadpan rebelliousness and determination not to fit in with the crowd. They bond at the 7/11 – one of the few icons of stablisation in JD’s childhood as his father has dragged him up after his mother’s death.

After a fall out, Sawyer and JD find themselves at the home of Chandler to make her a hangover cure – Sawyers mixes one with egg and Worcester sauce whereas JD makes a deadly concoction of bleach. Chandler ends up drinking the poison and collapses dead. In a panic JD persuades Sawyer to fake a suicide note and Chandler finds herself even more popular dead than she was alive. The teen duo are now inextricably linked with the fallout from their actions and things polarise.

The choreography, by Thriller Live’s Gary Lloyd is slick and the timing impeccable complimented to perfection by design from David Shields, lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound by Dan Samson.

There are lots of great 80s pop cultures references laced throughout along with some of the most quotable lines from the film.

We absolutely loved this show, which definitely rivals the other top musicals in its class. Black comedy is hard to pull at the best of times and I admit I was a little apprehensive, given the themes, but all my fears were dispelled in the first five minutes and the production blows your mind in how it achieves the fine balance between comedy and drama all with a musical backdrop.

The show achieved a well deserved standing ovation from the audience at the end. Catch this amazing production in Nottingham until 4 September 2021 https://trch.co.uk/whats-on/heathers-the-musical-2021/ with tickets from £17.50-£44.50 or continuing its first national wide tour till the end of the year https://www.heathersthemusical.com/uk-tour.

Rating: 5/5