Kicking off its first ever national tour, Bugsy Malone will be performing at Manchester Opera House until Saturday 12 November.
Packed with contagious youthful energy, the story captures the battle for power between rival gangster bosses Fat Sam and Dandy Dan, as well as focusing in parts on the rise of Bugsy Malone.
With the Roaring ‘20s well underway, custard pies and “splurge” guns are causing chaos as gang wars are erupting throughout the city. New York is brimming with mobsters, hoodlums, showgirls and dreamers, all fighting for their place in the spotlight.
Carried by a talented cast of mostly children under the age of 15 with only a handful of adult characters, the show is brought to life with its slapstick humour, gripping action, top-tapping dance numbers and dazzling costumes.
My favourite aspect of the show had to be the rendition of ‘So You Wanna Be a Boxer’ which had so much power and vigour behind every movement. The exceptional choreography just topped it off with wonderful technique and I was entranced watching every single cast member involved in the scene.
The standout of the evening, for me, was Bugsy himself played by Gabriel Payne. The future star sang and charmed his way into our hearts, with fantastic facial expressions and nonstop energy continuously all the way through. His stage presence was just extraordinary, especially for such a young age.
Another mention must go to Delilah Bennet-Cardy. As Blousey Brown, Bugsey’s love interest whose ultimate goal was to ‘make it’ in show business and become a Hollywood star, she brought so much vulnerability and emotion to her heartfelt performance of ‘Ordinary Fool’. She has an incredibly mature range to her voice and the song was staged so effortlessly.
The whole of the young cast had a great deal of potential and really held their own for the duration of the performance, it was so lovely to see their sheer passion & love for theatre shining through their performances too. The show perfectly conveyed both its heart and wit, with an excellent asset of breaking the fourth wall at many points of the show by directly addressing the audience in a more informal manner.
It was a delightful treat of an evening and I truly was in awe of the raw talent on display, anybody who is anybody needs to head down to Manchester Opera House to indulge in this brilliant show.
