Ghost The Musical – Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

The stunning Aylesbury Waterside Theatre last night hosted the opening night of the latest UK tour of Ghost the Musical which extends into 2025.

This musical will forever be judged against the original production which began in Manchester in 2011. Sadly, in today’s climate it will never be possible to tour this show in that original format due to the ever-rising costs and the logistical complexities the show displayed. In this production, slightly updated from its last tour the set serves its purpose but no more and audiences need to accept that.

Based on the hit movie Ghost is a story about Sam Wheat who is murdered on his way home from visiting his girlfriend Molly’s art exhibition and becomes trapped between this world and the next. His subsequent journey teaches him the circumstances of his murder and highlights the danger Molly remains in. Before transitioning to the next life Sam must save Molly and see justice prevail.

Ghost, for me still remains a superb show and its strengths now are shown as a result of good casting and this tour has for me, the best principle cast as a whole since the first UK tour in 2013. Leading the cast are Rebekah Lowings as Molly and Josh St. Clair playing Sam. The chemistry between the two is evident from the first scene to the final moment as the lights dim. Lowings returning to the role is nothing short of magnificent, her vocals perfectly matching the feeling of loss she portrays throughout. Her performance of the show’s most well-known number ‘With You’ was heartbreaking to listen to and brought a tear to this hardened reviewer’s eye.

St. Clair as Sam moulded perfectly on stage with Lowings, in the scenes before his death the bond they created made the end of the show even more heartbreaking. His vocals were also strong, and you could hear the desperation of the situation he finds himself in in his voice.

The villain of this piece Carl Bruner is played by James Mateo-Salt. His portrayal of the role was executed well; however, I would have liked to see more of the ‘nice guy’ in the beginning before the reveal towards the end of act 1 which sees the beginning of his decline. Again, vocally strong I would love to see how Mateo-Salt develops the role as the tour continues.

At times this show is an emotional roller coaster, but Jacqui Dubois brings fun and a lot of laughs as the flamboyant Oda Mae Brown. As another returning cast member from the last tour Dubois has the audience eating out of the palm of her hand from her first entrance threatening Lowings for the title of performance of the night. Her interactions with St. Clair whilst never making eye contact a highlight along with the ridiculously well written bank scene are hilarious.

For this tour the producers have employed Les Dennis to play both the Hospital Ghost and Lionel Ferguson.  For me, his portrayal of Ferguson far outweighed that of the Hospital Ghost where he used all his comic experience during the bank scene bouncing off Dubois.

Notable performances came from Jules Brown as Willie Lopez, Garry Lee as the Subway Ghost, Tanisha Butterfield as Clara, Keiahna Jackson-Jones as Louise and Molly Cleere as Mrs Santiago highlighted the quality of this touring cast.

Tonight was opening night of the tour and as such there were technical mishaps. It took a few scenes for the sound to find its balance and spotlight cues missed, but I am sure these will be ironed out as the tour gathers momentum and can be forgiven.

Visually Ghost may not be the juggernaut it once was, but emotionally and vocally it is still a power to be reckoned with. The show continues in Aylesbury until Saturday before continuing to Sunderland next week and touring until 2025 with a brief break for Christmas.

Reviewer: Paul Downham

Reviewed: 22nd August 2024

North West End UK Rating: