Mean Girls – The Regent Theatre

‘Mean Girls,’ originally written by Tina Fey in 2004, is gracing the stage at Stoke this week. It is an amusing musical comedy based on the film version. In its musical format it was an instant success and since it was first performed in New York in 2018 where it received much accolade and was nominated for several Tony awards. It then travelled to London and has been a huge success ever since.

Directed by Casey Nicholaw it includes an extremely talented bunch of stars that are certainly ‘all things musical theatre’. The story is essentially about a group who call themselves ‘The Plastics’ who see themselves as the leaders of North Shore High School in every way. The ringleader is the evil ‘Regina George’ and it tells the tale of her taking new girl ‘Cady’ under her wing and the battle they both have to learn more about themselves, their friendships and the dangers of ‘fitting in’ when it goes against who you are as an individual.

Emily Lane plays the lead character ‘Cady Heron’. She displayed an initial innocence in her character, and it was interesting to see how she developed it as the musical progressed. With strong vocals she interacted well with the main characters and the audience could clearly see her power strengthened particularly in the final scenes.

Vivian Panka performed as the perfect ‘Regina George’- evil and conspiring, she played the part of the diva to the max. With phenomenal vocals and great interaction with all on stage she was easy to watch. Dancing with a spinal brace on in the final scenes was amusing, as of course it was intended to be, but also a little bizarre to watch.

It took a while to fully realise that Faye Tozer performed three parts in the production. A well-known name, she is extremely familiar to musical theatre and to performing and of course singing.  She was Mrs Heron, Ms Norbury and Mrs George in the production. She must be applauded for this as the characterisation of each role were poles apart and she carried them all off incredibly well. Her part of Mrs George was wonderfully over the top, extremely camp and yet there was a hint of even Mrs George trying to fit in with her own daughter which Tozer executed well.

The performance with the most comedic timing must go to Sophie Pourret who was ‘Karen Smith’, one of ‘the Plastics’ at North Shore High. Her deadpan approach to comedic lines were spot on and it was clear she was popular with the audience.

The set was excellent and the movement of the scenes were slick at all times. The classroom scenes where the students on the chairs moved to demonstrate different classes was well executed. All stage managers and technical teams must be applauded for this.

‘Mean Girls’ is still as relevant today as it was when it was written. It delivers a story about the need to ‘fit in’ and survival in a ‘toxic culture’. It is a musical that is certainly designed for all ages, but it could be suggested that a younger female demographic may get a lot more out of the musical than others. The performance was bright and unapologetically loud. In this sense there was very little light and shade, even in the more subdued moments.

All songs were sung to perfection There was not one song that really stood out and that that the audience may be humming on the way home, unlike many other musicals of a similar genre. However, this did not detract from the overall feel good nature of the musical.

On until Saturday 4^th April at The Regent Theatre, tickets can be purchased via the box office or www.atgtickets.com The age guidance is 10 years plus due to some mature content.

Reviewer: Angela Kelly

Reviewed: 30th March 2026

North West End UK Rating: