Red Bus Londinium Life

Mean Girls is a high school musical drama. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else and it does it very well, examining and exploring the desperate desire we all have to fit in. It does not have the same dark undertones and comedy as Heathers, but neither is it completely saccharine.

Mean Girls has been striking a chord with teenage girls since Tina Fey‘s movie was released 20 years ago starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams. (The film was itself inspired by inspired by Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes). The problems of being the new girl, cliques, how to fit in, bigging yourself up without talking others down, remain universal.

The Mean Girls musical opened in Broadway in 2018, after trials in Washington, with Tina Fey tweaking it to reflect the teenage experience of the 21st century. (Some find it hard to believe there was teen angst before mobile phones…) Its arrival in London was delayed by Covid but it finally opened at the Savoy in 2024.

Massive projections of diaries and notebooks light up the stage as the audience arrives, immediately taking us back to high school with imagery and writing that are absolutely on point. Tony-award winning scenic designer Scott Pask explains, “We researched exact typefaces to make sure it didn’t feel juvenile“. Movable screens, lockers, desks and beds make for a flexible staging which moves seamlessly between scenes.

Tony and Olivier-award winning costume designer Katrina Lindsay has produced a sea of pink which captures the essence of each character. I went on a Wednesday, when much of the audience had also taken the “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” mantra seriously.

Charlie Burn began the show as an excellent Cady Hilton though we did not get to see her transformation into Cady 2.0 as she had to stand down in the interval. Clíona Flynn very competently stood in and it was a treat to get two Cadies for the price of one. Flynn can stand in for both Cady and ultimate Queen Bee Regina George, reminding us that understudies really do make the West End go round.

Georgina Powell was an excellently mendacious and greedy step-sister in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella. The part of Regina George here does not give her quite the same opportunities to bare her evil side, but she performs it with aplomb. It is also heartening to see her back in a permanent role after Lloyd Webber pulling the plug on Cinderella left his cast high and dry. (Powell was in the newspapers at the time explaining that the cancellation meant she lost her mortgage).

Originating the role of Nancy in London, Grace Mouat gets to show off her comic flair. Mouat’s last role before Mean Girls was in Before / After at the Southwark Playhouse where she was both literally and figuratively cramped so it is a treat to see her able to be more expansive.

Elèna Gyasi as Gretchen, Elena Skye as Janis and Tom Xander as Damian are also all well-cast and the ensemble is strong.

Teens in the audience were delighted and their doting parents (largely mothers, this was a very female audience) were delighted for them. Mean Girls recently won Best New Musical at the 2025 What’s On Stage awards, surprising many that felt The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a certain winner, indicating the loyalty of its audience. This is a show that delivers exactly what it promises.