Bliss at Pleasance Courtyard Grand Review
On paper, Bliss has everything going for it. It has the pedigree of the team behind Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, direction from Tony nominee Sheryl Kaller, and a company packed with West End talent. Judging by the sold-out Pleasance Grand on the day that I went, plenty of people were ready to believe the hype.
The premise is a fairytale remix with feminist ambitions: four princesses - Piper (Akshara Gunda), Carmella (Alexandra Emmerson-Kirby), Faye (Miriam Nyarko) and Holly (Matilda Shapland) - locked away in a tower by their protective father (Cameron Johnson). The staging is one of the show's strengths; the design is pared back but inventive, with revolving set pieces that keep the world visually interesting, and the costumes feel fresh with a similar sense of newness. Bliss feels slightly pantomime-y, yet strains for sincerity at every turn, an approach that might land if the characters gave us more to hold onto. As it stands, each princess is defined almost entirely by her designated hobby, and they are difficult to emotionally invest in.
The pop-rock score is a highlight, punchy, upbeat and genuinely enjoyable, and Jordan Calloway threatens to walk off with the entire show as a prince so effortlessly charming and reminiscent of an early 00s boyband lead singer. There are flashes of real humour too, and the whole thing is undeniably glittery fun in the moment.
But the moment doesn't hold. The second act sags noticeably, with pacing that lets the energy drain, and is entirely predictable from the midway mark. The tone, meanwhile, can't decide who it's for, lurching from broad slapstick pitched at children to gags about boobs and riverside snogging. The result is a show that seems unsure of its own audience, and a closing message - love yourself! You don’t need to change yourself for a man! - that doesn’t feel particularly revolutionary
Bliss is style over substance: gorgeous to look at, easy to listen to, and frustratingly hollow at its centre. With sharper characterisation and a firmer grip on tone, there may be a great musical in here somewhere. This just isn't quite it.
Bliss will be running at Pleasance Courtyard Grand until August 31st, at 1pm
★ ★ ★
Written by Ellora for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
