★★★★★

Reviewer -Penny

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Last summer Bonnie and Clyde enjoyed a very successful run at London’s Arts Theatre. Now the newly crowned Best New Musical at the What’s On Stage Awards returns to London in its new and bigger home of the Garrick Theatre. The venue is twice as big, but can the show match up?

From the very start, the answer is clear – yes it can!

There’s a new set, which incorporates a lot of the original design but with bigger and bolder use of projection and making full use of the depth of the Garrick’s stage. The script has also been tweaked, one song has been removed and a couple of reprises added. We’ve lost the child actors playing Young Bonnie and Clyde – with the adult cast playing out the first number that sets up their dreams of fame (Bonnie) and notoriety (Clyde). The changes all work and the show, which was already fast paced and dynamic, seems to flow even better as a result.

There is a little more emphasis this time on the fact that Bonnie and Clyde were criminals, not just star-crossed lovers. This is particularly effective in an Act Two monologue from Clyde (previously performed by Young Clyde in a rather confusing flashback/dream), which brings the impact of his murders into focus. This also serves to give Clyde’s character more depth.

The characters of Buck and Blanche Barrow also benefit from these changes, feeling more of an integral part of the Barrow gang’s story, rather than a sub-plot. Giving them a brief reprise together as the show reaches its climax highlights their own tragic love story, with dreams of a simple life together destroyed by the life of crime they’ve been dragged into.

The show doesn’t offer a huge amount for the Ensemble to do, but their big number in the first act is now even bigger. “Gods Arms Are Always Open” has been reworked with a key change taking everything up a gear and more choreography that really packs a punch. There’s also a perfectly timed reprise later on.

Nick Winston’s direction is first class and makes the interactions between the characters feel very natural. Characters don’t stop talking or singing to apply lipstick, smoke a cigarette or have a drink of water – an effective technique that adds to the feeling that this is natural conversation rather than scripted dialogue. We all know how the story ends and while there is plenty of foreshadowing – largely through Bonnie’s poetry – there is still enough humour and romance to offset the tragic road that Clyde is speeding along in his stolen car, but without giving the idea that crime is being glamourised. That’s not an easy balance to get right.

4. BONNIE & CLYDE. Dom Hartley-Harris 'Preacher' and Company. Photo The Other Richard.jpg

3. BONNIE & CLYDE. Georgie Maguire 'Buck' and Jordan Luke Gage 'Clyde'. Photo The Other Richard.jpg

The music is heavily influenced by folk and blues, helping to take us to Depression era Texas. Ominous, heavy guitars crash in at the most dramatic moments. There’s no deadwood amongst the songs, each one moves the plot along and gives us another insight into the main characters.

As for the cast, it is spectacular with no weak links and some outstanding singing on show from all. There are plenty of actors returning from last summer’s run, as well as a few new faces amongst the principals and ensemble.

Returning in the titular roles of Bonnie and Clyde are Frances Mayli McCann and Jordan Luke Gage, they are dynamite together. As well as having fantastic chemistry, their voices blend perfectly. The characters have a lot of vocally challenging songs and it is a testament to the huge talent of this pair that they make them look absolutely effortless. Gage’s version of “Raise a Little Hell” at the end of the first act is an absolute tour de force, equalled by McCann’s heartbreaking “Dying Ain’t So Bad” towards the end of the show.

George Maguire returns as Buck, injecting energy and comedy into his performance alongside more fantastic vocals – his number with Clyde, “When I Drive” is a highlight. Cleve September plays Ted Hinton and provides something of a moral compass for the police hunting down the outlaws, it’s a role that in lesser hands could be a rather one dimensional character moping about his unrequited love for Bonnie but he stays just on the right side of mawkish sentimentality.

Amongst the principal cast there are two newcomers. Dom Hartley-Harris is the Preacher and absolutely shines in “God’s Arms Are Always Open” – he’s front and centre throughout and is just fabulous. Jodie Steele has taken over the role of Blanche Barrow and she really makes it her own – striking a perfect balance between the comic one liners that reveal Blanche’s holier-than-thou bitchy side and her heart breaking despair at the way her life with Buck is going. Her singing perfectly suits the score, bringing a gentle country twang that really works and her rivalry with Bonnie is delicious.

Although there are limited opportunities for them, the Ensemble members manage to shine in a range of cameo roles, from beauty parlour customers to church goers, bank staff to Bonnie and Clyde’s family members. They are all excellently played, but my personal favourite was Pippa Winslow as a very fierce Governor Ferguson.

Although this is Bonnie and Clyde’s return to the West End it feels like a brand new production. The changes made since last summer make it feel fresh and dynamic, with an outstanding cast that works together brilliantly to tell the story. It already has a strong and vocal fanbase and has attracted a lot of younger people to the theatre. With its new limited run, Bonnie and Clyde deserves to reach a wider audience still, as it is a fantastic night out for theatre fans of all ages. The marketing for the show says it’s London’s “Most Wanted”. And the marketing’s not wrong!

Bonnie and Clyde is playing a limited season at Garrick Theatre until 20 May 2023. Book your tickets!