Tonight was my first visit to both Knutsford Little Theatre and Together For Theatre Productions to witness their latest offering Bonnie & Clyde. This is a musical rarely performed by amateur societies as it is tough to stage with the story moving so fast from one location to another and the underscore not allowing much wriggle room.
The story of Bonnie & Clyde needs little explanation, bad boy meets good girl, and good girl turns bad due to the blindness of love. It doesn’t end well for our lead actors as is highlighted at the very start of the show.
Together For Theatre have had no issues attracting a stellar cast to perform this gem of a musical which should be performed so much more. The score is stunning, the story compelling, everything points to a West End and Broadway hit. Sadly, the most recent UK tour closed earlier this year due to poor ticket sales, a travesty. Tonight, in Knutsford every seat was sold, as is every evening performance this week with only limited tickets available for Saturday’s matinee which may well have been snapped up by the time this review is published.
The show revolves around 4 main characters, Clyde (Kieran Picken), The only time you’ll hear Clyde before Bonnie! Bonnie (Kat Rawling), Buck (Cory Evans) and Blanche (Abbie Lloyd). As mentioned earlier, this is a stellar cast, in fact regarding the four leads, a dream cast.
Picken as Clyde is the villain you love to hate. His vocals are sublime not withstanding slight microphone issues in act 1 which were quickly resolved. His interactions with Rawling as Bonnie are believable and the chemistry between the two is real. Rawling shines in her vocal solo numbers. Evans as Buck, the hardest role to portray in this show for me, is solid. His angst between pleasing his wife Blanche and his dedication to brother is heartfelt and well portrayed. That moves me on to Lloyd as Blanche, a gift of a role to any actor. Lloyd shows off her skills as a comedic actor equalled by her vocal performance. I note she moves on to play Elle Woods following this production, inspired casting in my eyes and I have not even seen that production yet.
Other notable performances come from Steve Sheppard as the preacher. Anyone who has seen Sheppard in previous performances (most recently in Evita at Buxton Opera House) will know he was faultless throughout. Joe Moore as the sheriff portrayed a dominancy alongside his usual spot on facial expressions.
Staging this show, again as previously mentioned is not an easy task. Sean Duvall has risen to the task with merit in his set design, 6 wooden boxes against a wooden slatted backdrop is wonderfully inspired. Projections onto the backdrop assist in the narration of the piece highlighting the scene settings. Whilst helpful in doing so, the projections are at times hard to see and read. A few opening night mix ups in scene changes slightly delayed the timeline, however the cast and band succeeded in making them less than noticeable to anyone not familiar with the piece.
Musically, this show shines. An insanely large 9-piece band for a small venue led by Alex Williams is sublime, housed behind the set never hit a wrong note and sound majestic.
On reading the programme It feels right to name one particular person, Becky Brady. Becky appears in the programme no less than 6 times, taking on roles from choreographer, to costume designer, to hair and make-up. to vice chairwoman and also undertaking numerous roles on stage. Becky appears to BE this show and every element undertaken does not disappoint.
Director Ben Evans-Clarke has directed a wholesome and moving piece of theatre which both produces laughter whilst pulling at your heartstrings. Come awards season local societies should be worried he won’t walk away with the lion’s share of the honours.
The show continues until Saturday and bar Saturday matinee is sold out. My interest in their 2025 production is noted as this relatively new and vibrant society is setting standards in amateur theatre, despite their infancy others need to match.
Reviewer: Paul Downham
Reviewed: 14th August 204
North West End UK Rating: