This musical is based on the television series of the same name and tells the story of a dozen or so inmates of Larkhall Prison who are incarcerated for various misdemeanours ranging from shoplifting through drug dealing and prostitution to murder. The characters are introduced individually at the start of the show, which was a nice touch by director Lucy Worthington in her directorial debut (and a marvellous job she did of it too; I have seen shows where she has acted as assistant director, but this is her first time in charge in her own right.)
The plot as it is revolves around the relationships between the female prisoners and their mainly male warders, who are split between those wanting to take advantage of the girls and those who wish a better life for them. As the play progresses, the women’s struggle against the adversity they face from both the warders and their own colleagues develops into a sometimes brutal and harsh storyline without losing the innate affection between the characters.
The director has put together a wonderfully diverse and talented bunch of actors for this production, ranging from young to not so young. Throughout the show, the choreography was outstanding (credit here to Jenny Arundale) and I should highlight here the talents of the likes of Amy Walker, Megan Voss (nice to see her progressing from a junior to the realms of adult theatre), the ever-consistent Maisie Noble and a new name for me in Mia Reilly who I have not seen before but held her own in exalted company.
The main singers were all exceptional; The multi-talented Terry Halliday as the evil warder Jim Fenner who’s character generated a chorus of boos at the final curtain, not because of a poor performance but the excellent job he did with the character he portrayed; the superb Jade Wilbraham as Nicki, I’d forgotten what a wonderful singing voice she possesses; Dawn Wrigley as the wing governor Helen was amazing – she should be on the stage more often and not just restrict herself to all the sterling work she does behind the scenes; Lauren Ricketts as the top dog Shell Dockley (and her side-kick Olivia Barton playing Denny Blood, who has progressed so much in 5 years since “For the first time in forever”!) and I must mention Jenni Wallis as the lady of loose morals Julie Saunders, who I still maintain is one of the best female character actors I have ever seen. Apologies to those cast members I have not been able to name individually but I can confidently say that every performance was superb.
As this is of course a musical it would be remiss of me not to mention the songs and singing. There were a couple of strong individual performances which I have not already mentioned; Holly Murphy as the bible-bashing Crystal Gordon whose rendition of “Freedom Road” is worth highlighting; some excellent duets throughout the show, Lauren and Olivia at the start with “Guardian Angel”; the 2 songs that Terry and Jo Burton as the warder “Body bag” Hollamby did together were great; but the outstanding duet for me came from Dawn and Jade singing “Every night”, this was absolutely brilliant.
The singers were augmented by a group of talented musicians led by Ceri Graves and Scott Mitchell, credit to them.
The only negative comment I have to make regarding this performance was that on a number of occasions the microphones for the singers were not switched on in time for the start of their vocals. It was only by the matter of a second or two each time, but I found it frustrating not to be able to hear clearly what was being said. Hope this can be worked on for future performances.
The show ended with the Miss Saigon type arrival of a helicopter to aid the prisoners escape! The show runs until Saturday September 28th, and I believe there are still tickets remaining and I would recommend you grab one if you can.
Reviewer: David S Clarke
Reviewed: 26th September 2024
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 4 out of 5.
