Red Bus Londinium Life

The New Wimbledon Theatre currently plays host to a touring version of Hairspray.

Based on John Water’s 1988 film of the same name, Hairspray is a staple feel-good musical. The musical’s first iteration on Broadway won 8 Tony Awards and then went on to win 4 Olivier awards in the West End.

This current tour version is Brenda Edwards’ directorial debut – as she takes the helm in a show she knows well having had past success as Motormouth Maybelle.

Katie Brace is another show returner, returning in the key role Tracy Turnblad: a role which marked her theatre debut. She is a tour-de-force and carries a cast which is not entirely uniform in strength.

The ensemble pieces are strong and the choreography (Olivier Award-winning Drew McOnie) is absolutely evocative of the era and place, 1962 Baltimore. Clever use of projections compensates for a relatively sparse touring set and is especially effective in the protest scenes. The imagery of civil rights icons, in particular, was very moving.

For beyond all the kitsch and the sixties-style colourful TV glamour, this is a story with a message at its heart. Tracy Turnblad has been judged by society for her girth and uses her overnight celebrity to champion racial integration on television.

Tracy’s enthusiasm and naïveté about the depths of segregation issues and how easy change may be is made gently but firmly clear by the absolute powerhouse star of this show, Michelle Ndegwa. Ndegwa has a long music pedigree but Motormouth is her theatre debut. She is certainly someone whose career I will watch with excitement (and my pleasure was definitely enhanced by sitting next to her very, very proud sister – with family like that in your corner, how could you go wrong?).

Another rising star to watch is Trinity Laban graduate Katlo as Little Inez. She brought true verve and sass to her performance here and surely has a bright path ahead of her.

For me, the pantomime-dame like role of Edna Turnblad (played here by Neil Hurst) was my least favourite part of the show. Hurst is absolutely true to the original role, played in the film by Divine, but this part seems to work less well for a modern audience. That said, the duet between Hurst and his husband (Dermot Canavan) was a amusing – and raunchy – crowd-pleaser.

The performance I saw had an understudy Seaweed. His was a competent and well-delivered performance, but I would love to see what the intended Seaweed (Reece Richards, a veteran in the role) brought to the part.

Prizes for the most unrecognisable transformation of the night go to Freya McMahon whose metamorphosis was so total that I hardly recognised she was the same actress – a stunning alteration of voice, posture, stance and costumes.

All in all, a pleasurable but slightly patchy night that will put a smile on your face.

[Thank you to New Wimbledon theatre for the gifted tickets for an honest review].