Heathers

I approached this cult musical version of a cult film with some trepidation. I loved the film when I first saw it back in 1989, the stylish and slightly surreal approach to teenage bullying and suicide was certainly thought provoking. My first experience of the musical left me somewhat cold, at that moment it felt like it had taken a step too far and was certainly too loud, I was not alone in fearing for the integrity of the structure in our beloved theatre.

This time round, and maybe I was in a better frame of mind, I actually loved it. It is certainly flawed, at times the insistent rock rhythms swallow the lyrics but all in all, in this quieter production, those words, after a few moments of adjusting to the volume and the accents, came across far better. And by adjusting to that I was able far better to enjoy what is most definitely a very clever script and an engaging score.

Heathers is dangerous stuff, vile behaviour, distorted morals, darker than dark for sure, but with some excellent and this time clearly defined messages. And one has to hope that those messages come across to a new set of teenage fans to whom the dangers of bitching, bullying and bad behaviour are hopefully directed.

The staging is first class and the changes slickly executed and the lighting is superb, pinpoint precise throughout and very effective too.

Finally to the cast who on this occasion are, to a person, quite marvellous, impressive in all senses, dance, acting and vocally, there is not a moment where you feel that they are giving any less than 100%, and the action when delivered in slow motion or frozen is so well executed that the effect is cinematic.

And in that cast there are some truly stand out performances. Jacob Fowler slides from charmingly alternative to darkly sinister with such ease and sings beautifully, Katie Paine shows true comic genius in the various roles she takes as do Jay Bryce and Conor McFarlane, particularly when delivering Dead Gay Son, which received the loudest applause from an audience of all ages. Jenna Innes is stunning as Veronica Sawyer and plays the role with real and compelling conviction, and she can sing oh how she can sing.

The Heathers are finely drilled, utterly terrifying, demonically dynamic but on this occasion the highest of praise has to go to Eliza Bowden who as understudy came on in the leading role of Heather Chandler, number one Heather, the truly evil embodiment of the high school bitch – and she nailed it from start to finish, an exceptional performance, flawless to the point that any performer she replaced should be afraid, very afraid.

So having arrived with trepidation I left feeling good, feeling impressed and hoping that the younger members of the audience left having understood and absorbed the message. And in a side note, if any of the female members of Brighton College plan to attend, that plaid skirted uniform is rather scarily Heather Like!

Andrew Kay

Theatre Royal Brighton

15 March

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