Mean Girls – Bradford Alhambra

Gangs of teenagers were eagerly posing with the publicity posters outside this historic venue keen to check out the theatrical version of Tina Fey’s cult classic movie.

It was refreshing to see so many young faces in the audience as some of them might be experiencing the same sort of high school pressures and teen angst that Fey’s witty book full of smart one liners so accurately captured, which was no doubt based on her own experiences.

Home schooled Cady had returned from the wilds of Kenya to be plunged into a hormone driven jungle where different packs wander the corridors of an Illinois High School preying on each other. Top of the food chain were the Plastics led by Regina and her two sycophantic sidekicks Gretchen and Karen. Egged on by arty outsiders Damian and Janis, the school’s newbie infiltrated the Plastics destroying them from within before she became the new apex predator. But would that crown rest easy on Cady’s head?

Anyone who had ever been to school would recognise the jock and nerd cliques in Mean Girls and the power of peer pressure. Although Fey’s words lacked the dark edge of Heathers, where the girls were really mean, it still made some salient points to the actual teens in the room about being yourself and not following the pack.

The show’s weakness was Jeff Richmond’s solid score, full of brash power pop anthems, but none that you would be humming on the way home. Nell Benjamin’s lyrics were smart, offering some basic backstories to all the characters and kept the narrative bouncing along. Scott Pask’s science design relied on pretty basic projections, so visually there was a lot riding on Casey Nicholaw’s dynamic and intelligent choreography well executed by a strong ensemble.

Emily Lane was suitably perky as naïve Cady as she cleverly navigated the path to queen bee and the cost of that. It Roars was an early vocal highlight, and Lane filled Stupid With Love with pathos. Vivian Panka was totally believable as the Plastics queen and as the show’s powerhouse singer belted out an emotional World Burn. Kiara Dario got to the heart of Gretchen’s insecurities and Sophie Pourret as gormless Karen had great fun leading the female ensemble through the knowing Sexy, much to the audience’s delight.

Given the demographics of the audience, it was lovely to see two openly gay characters who actually had genuine substance to their roles in the plot. Max Gill as Damien camped it up nicely, and expertly led the ensemble through an exhilarating Where Do You Belong? Georgie Buckland as his best mate Janis was equally impressive duetting with Lane on a powerful Apex Predator. As you might have expected Steps legend Faye Tozer was in fine form vocally but also demonstrated some decent acting chops playing three roles.

There are better and darker shows about the high school experience, but Mean Girls was great fun, and ultimately what made this show hit the mark is that the young people in the audience made plenty of noise as they got it in a way the rest of us didn’t.

Mean Girls is at Alhambra Bradford until Saturday 10th October. To book 01274 432000 or www.bradford-theatres.co.uk

Reviewer: Paul Clarke

Reviewed: 5th October 2026

North West End UK Rating: