City Slicker Bugsy Malone has strolled into the Millennium Centre

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Bugsy Malone the Musical review: the acclaimed revival returns to Cardiff.

Finally, the long winter reign of Les Misérables has come to an end at the Millennium Centre and Alan Parker’s world-famous movie-musical Bugsy Malone has rolled into town. The uplifting comedy musical ticks all the right boxes; great songs, great gags, and a great chaotic and messy finale!

Set in prohibition era New York, kids run amok in the city playing gangsters and getting into fights. Only the candy coated sinner Bugsy Malone can help Fat Sam defeat his arch-rival Dandy Dan before the whole cast gets pied! The costumes and sets fit the tone perfectly and if it wasn’t for the multiple fourth wall breaks and tongue in cheek moments you could have easily got lost in the 1920s setting.

First of all, the entire cast were incredible on opening night, taking the music and dances from the original film and making them bigger and bolder than ever before. Although many of the sets were minimal, the stage always seemed to be filled with motion and colour thanks to the dynamic movements of the ensemble. I particularly enjoyed the brighter and busier version of So You Wanna Be A Boxer and of course the final chaotic showdown/finale that is You Give A Little Love.

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”29208″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]

Also, not wanting to spoil anything here but the whole show ended with a sort of drum n’ bass mashup of all the songs with the cast coming together to breakdance and jump to the music. I came completely out of nowhere and was a totally bonkers way to end a musical set nearly 100 years ago but I absolutely loved it! It might be my favourite ending to a musical I’ve ever seen and I kind of hope more shows would do this now. Just imagine the Sound Of Music closing with a dance medley!

I can’t really go any further in this review without mentioning the undisputable talent of the young cast. Just like in the movie Bugsy, Tallulah, Blousey, Baby Face and Dandy Dan are all played by kids who absolutely crushed it! Standouts for me were Albie Snelson who played Fat Sam, and delivered some of the best jokes of the show. I also loved the performance of Fizzy by Aidan Oti. He gave a significantly better and more likeable performance than his film counterpart who was probably victim to the most obvious sound dubbing in the original movie. Aidan may be small but his voice filled the whole theatre when it came to his solo Tomorrow.

Overall, Bugsy Malone at the Millennium Centre took the original film and made it bolder and more dynamic than before. All of the jokes landed and the dance numbers were superb to watch. If you remember the original film, or you’ve never seen it and want to a see a musical version of Peaky Blinders where the gangsters are played by kids, then this is absolutely one to watch

[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cVCiZplP0I” align=”center”][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]