This week, Bake Off gets the musical treatment, Bonnie and Clyde returns for a second run in the West End, and dance company Ballet Black celebrate the life of Nina Simone.
Bonnie and Clyde – Garrick Theatre ★★★★☆
Though it wasn’t exactly critically revered upon its 2011 Broadway debut, Bonnie and Clyde was an instant cult favourite in musical theatre circles. Last year, it won a whole new legion of followers when it first hit the West End for a limited run at the Arts Theatre, with audiences obsessing over Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage’s portrayal of the controversial outlaws. Less than a year later, it’s back on stage, and the reason for the hype quickly becomes clear: together, McCann and Gage are a saucy, defiant duo for whom it’s almost impossible not to root – despite their penchant for greed, fame and bloody murder.
The show begins at the very end of the folk heroes’ story, with the sound of gunshots and the sight of their bleeding bodies in their getaway car, the pair felled by the authorities after a months-long murder and robbery spree in 1934. Over two acts, we see how a waitress with dreams of Hollywood stardom and a wannabe celebrity gangster fall madly in love and ultimately shoot their way to the top of the FBI’s most-wanted list. McCann and Gage are excellent leads; their chemistry crackles, while their triumphant vocals make Frank Wildhorn and Don Black’s sexy, country blues score shine. Clyde’s act one belter “Raise a Little Hell” and Bonnie’s 11 o’clock number “Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad” both had the opening night audience roaring with approval.
Most of the action surrounds our eponymous criminal pair, but the leads are supported by a dynamic ensemble who bring their poverty-stricken, dead-end hometown of West Dallas to life. As Blanche, Clyde’s God-fearing and judgemental sister-in-law, Jodie Steele is a real standout, blending a beautiful singing voice with precise comic timing.
Though the celebration of a murderous couple may sit strangely with some, for many more, this moral quandary won’t matter; Bonnie and Clyde is irresistibly fun with music that lingers in the mind well after the bows.
Nicole Vassell
The Great British Bake Off Musical ★★★☆☆
“Have you ever slapped a strudel before?” asks Phil Hollinghurst, The Great British Bake Off Musical’s stand-in for Paul Hollywood. Contestant Babs nods her head: “Three times, and all of them ended in divorce.” It’s not entirely clear what she means. But... who cares? This is a Bake Off musical! Innuendos that don’t always make sense are what we’re here for!
The show is based on Bake Off as a concept rather than any real-life storylines, set during the filming of a fictional series and charting behind-the-scenes rivalries and romances among the on-screen action. It’s hosted by presenting duo Kim and Jim (a hilarious Zoe Birkett and Scott Paige), while our judges are “baking demi-gods” Pam Lee (Haydn Gwynne) and Phil Hollinghurst (John Owen-Jones), not-so-loosely based on Prue Leith and Hollywood.
While much of the drama takes place in the Bake Off tent (carved out of neon in Alice Power’s innovative design), this show isn’t scared to move into more abstract territory, with a wacky opening number about the invention of cake and a battle over the pronunciation of the word “scone” in which Phil and Pam box one another while dressed as the afternoon tea staple. These moments reveal an unexpectedly offbeat sense of humour in the writing, as well as a willingness to joke about the show itself.
Brunger and Cleary’s score more than holds its own alongside other noteworthy new British musicals, but is let down slightly when the baking metaphors are forced onto more serious subject matter. Contestant Gemma (Charlotte Wakefield) sings about her mother’s death in a song titled “Somewhere in the Dough”, and when Italian Francesca (Cat Sandison) explores her problems to conceive in “Grow”, it’s through a heavy-handed “bun in the oven” metaphor. The messages in both songs are powerful, but the twee analogies prompt titters among the tears. But even in lyrically dodgy moments, these are songs you won’t be able to get out of your head – a rare thing for a new musical. The flavours here may not be subtle – but at least they’re punchy.
Isobel Lewis
Ballet Black: Pioneers – Barbican ★★★★☆
Isabela Coracy lights up Ballet Black’s new work, NINA: By Whatever Means. This danced biopic of Nina Simone is driven by Coracy’s superb presence, by the imposing strength and sweep of her movements.
Created by company dancer Mthuthuzeli November, NINA: By Whatever Means starts with Simone’s famous appearance at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival, then loops back to her childhood. November creates lively group sequences, but the biographical approach can plod. A flurry of waved placards tells us that we’ve reached the civil rights movement, but lacks dramatic weight.
The ballet is strongest when November steps away from his timeline to give space to Simone’s own art and words. As we hear Simone say that Black people are beautiful, we see Coracy dancing: on pointe, fist raised in salute. She’s claiming the space she deserves – as Simone, and as part of a company that was founded to give a platform to artists of Black and Asian descent. It’s a platform to cherish. Started in 2001, Ballet Black has a proud history of commissioned works, and of terrific dancing. This double bill shows a fine new generation of performers coming through.
A revival of William Tuckett’s 2020 Then or Now opens with a solo for Helga Paris-Morales, moving with flowing line and elegance. Tuckett layers poems by Adrienne Rich with violinist Daniel Pioro’s new variations on a theme by Biber. Sometimes the steps directly reflect the poetry – a mention of four men, images of everybody “sending love”. At other times, the dance flows alongside. It’s an approach that can lose momentum, but the vividness of the dancing keeps it on track. Zoe Anderson
