Written by Hollie for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review. All views are our own

Sunshine, Glamour and Casinos come to mind when thinking about The French Riviera. A casino on the French Riviera is where this story begins, and where Dirty Rotten Scoundrel Lawrence Jameson uses his charm and wit to persuade glamorous women to part with their money. But Lawrence doesn’t work at the casino, he is a con artist.

Our protagonist, played by Chris Hiam in his debut show, plays his part with confidence and style. His take on the classic song ‘Give them what they want’ was a great opening number in the show.

Named after the 1988 film of the same name, this musical directed by Steve Elliott brings glitz, zest and great comedic timing to Leicester this Spring.

As a musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was originally a Broadway production that completed its run in 2006 before finally making its West End debut in 2013. The Leicester Operatic Players bring their version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to The Little Theatre this April along with excitement, thrills and chaos.

Now what is a con artist without his right-hand man and chief of police? Andre, played by Allan Smith, provides a fantastic rendition of ‘Chimp in a suit’ and along with Chris as Lawrence, they make a dynamic and hilarious duo.

Andre announces that another con artist known as ‘The Jackal’ has just arrived in the Riviera and Lawrence tries to get ahead of the game and make himself known to The Jackal, also known as Freddy Benson. But as the musical progresses and the characters get to know each other Chris, along with Freddie Perkins who plays character Freddy also form a hilariously natural duo on stage and their duet of ‘All about Ruprecht’ was one of my highlights of the first act.

Freddie brings charisma and wit to his performance as Freddy Benson, and the introduction of his character adds energy to the show. The musical numbers are where the talent lies within this production and Freddie’s rendition of ‘Great Big Stuff’ brought a lot of laughter to the audience.

A live orchestra led by Gareth Wynne and direction from Director Steve Elliott provide the audience with a lively and enthusiastic interpretation of this popular musical. The music is absolutely incredible and it almost becomes a character in itself with a mix of upbeat and slower songs sung by a variety of characters.

If the issues with the sound and the speakers could be ironed out in the remaining shows that would allow for no distractions to take away from the action happening on stage

Will the student outwit the master? Will Lawrence and Freddy get caught out?

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels continues its run at Leicester’s The Little Theatre until Saturday 25th April 2026.
★★★★

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