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A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
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Everyone knows the names Bonnie and Clyde but how many of us know the story behind them? Nick Winston brings to life their story, as told in the book by Ivan Menchell. An ill fated couple, drawn to each other by the thought of fame and glory. This musical follows their relationships: with each other, with their families, and with the strong arm of the law!
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It can be strange when a stage show starts with the end of the story, but this is certainly a case where we probably all know the ending anyway. Bonnie and Clyde are gunned down in their getaway car, which is a stark, jarring beginning to a musical. The blast of machine guns accompanied by bright flashes of light through the pitch dark certainly grabs your attention. From there the action goes back to when the couple meet and the songs start.
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Although we cannot say there are well known songs throughout this musical, there are some fantastic songs which are most fitting to the story. Don Black wrote the lyrics with Frank Wildhorn composing the music. Clyde singing Raise A Little Hell and Bonnie singing Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad have been stuck in my head since hearing them. A highlight was Bonnie and Blanche singing You Love Who You Love, intertwined in a duet whilst seemingly worlds apart from each other, even though each is in love with a Barrow brother.
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Clyde Barrow is played by Alex James-Hatton with Bonnie Parker portrayed by Katie Tonkinson. Clyde’s brother is Buck, played by Sam Ferriday and his wife Blanche Barrow is portrayed by Catherine Tyldesley. All four of them are fantastic actors, totally suit their parts and have fabulous voices. Another stand out character is Jaz Ellington as the Preacher, who belts out God’s Arms Are Always Open and Made In America.
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The set is seemingly simple but utterly effective as it swaps from a porch, to a jail, to a house, to a church, to as petrol station. At the start there are some items on shelves at the front which remain throughout and different items are pulled into the story at different times. The same cupboard belongs to different characters depending who is on stage at the time. All very clever, and seamless. As I watched it reminded me of the story writing principal that an item should only be mentioned if it is part of the narrative at some point. It is now amusing me that this principal is known as Chekhov’s gun, somewhat fitting in a production about gangsters which features many actual guns!
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Although I had been unsure what to expect from a musical about bank robbers in America, this show gives a lot more. Bonnie’s poetry is woven through the narrative, she was not just a pretty bit of skirt who liked the naughty boy. In some ways it is quite tragic as she probably could have achieved the fame she desired so much in a much better way, if only she had met a nicer chap to lead her a more wholesome route. Bonnie and Clyde were only together for a couple of years before meeting their untimely, although most deserved, ending. However their legacy of crime will live on in stories like this, and as the musical’s website declares: “it would be a crime to miss it”!
Further information: https://bonnieandclydemusical.com/
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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