Little Lark of London

“When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky, you can bet that he’s doing it for some doll”

Based on the original story and characters of Damon Runyon with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre brings the classic musical to the 21st century. This new production, directed by Nicholas Hytner, allows the audience to join in on the “Musical Fable of Broadway” by making the show immersive. Audience members are given the choice of whether to sit or stand – I would highly recommend standing to get the full experience!

Owain Arthur stars as Nathan Detroit, the host of New York’s “Permanent Floating Crap Game,” who is stuck between keeping the crap game hidden from the police while also staying in the good graces of his fiancee, Miss Adelaide (Timmika Ramsay), the star of the Hot Box. In order to raise the funds he needs to host the game in the Biltmore Garage, he makes a bet with Sky Masterson (George Ioannides), promising him £1,000 if he can taken Sarah Brown (Celinde Schoenmaker), a passionate member of the Save-A–Soul Mission, to Havana. As you might guess, chaos ensues!

The show is brought to another level (quite literally, at times) by designer Bunny Christie, who also designed the costumes along with Deborah Andrews. Christie has created a world that is able to change throughout the show, with platforms being raised and lowered to depict different settings like the Save-A-Soul Mission headquarters, the streets of New York and even a gay club in Havana! Members of the Bridge Theatre staff dressed as police guide the standing audience around the show, moving them around for their safety as machinery operates. At times, this can lead to some uncomfortable jostling, but in a way, that adds to the chaos that feels like New York. 

With musical supervision and arrangements by Tom Brady and choreography by Arlene Phillips with James Cousins, the iconic music is made even more exciting, particularly the show-stopping “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” with the show-stealing Jonathan Andrew Hume as Nicely-Nicely Johnson. But the entire cast is made up of talented vocalists and there is not a bad song in the show, from the sweet “More I Cannot Wish You” sung by Arvide Abernathy (Niall Buggy) to the toe-tapping “Luck Be A Lady” performed with Ionnaides with ease. Ramsay does a fantastic job as Miss Adelaide throughout the show, especially during the numbers “Adelaide’s Lament” and “Take Back Your Mink,” showing off two wildly different sides of the character. 

Special recognition must go to the ensemble, who are able to seamlessly switch between a range of characters, from Hot Box dancers and dancers in Havana to members of the Save-A-Soul Mission and New Yorkers wandering through the audience. These ensemble members include Siân Nathaniel-James, Kamilla Fernandes, Tanisha-Mae Brown, Sophie Pourret, Saffi Needham, Katie Bradley, Pierce Rogan, Dominic Lamb, James Revell, Samuel Routley, Eamonn Cox, Filippo Coffano, Alex Given, Nathan Rigg, Ryan Pidgen and Swings Irony Abesamis, Nathan Rigg, Lucie Horsfall and Hollie Jane Stephens.  I particularly loved seeing Tori Scott and both Good Time Charley Bernstein, the host of the Hot Box and General Cartwright, the woman in charge of the Save-A-Soul Mission. 

Ultimately, Guys & Dolls is a brilliant immersive production that lives up to the “immersive” name by bringing audiences into the worlds of New York and Havana. Every single one of the performers is giving their all with some truly fantastic performances that would have had me on my feet if I wasn’t already standing!

Guys & Dolls is currently running at the Bridge Theatre. For tickets, click here.

A note for those in the standing section – if you want to be seated at the tables during the Act II cabaret opener, be sure to have your physical ID on you, as you must have it to show one of the staff members. It would be great for Guys & Dolls to make a note of this on the site or preshow info, as I had my ID in my bag in the cloakroom but was not allowed to go and get it. 

Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan