Theatre Royal Nottingham – Saturday 16th March 2024
Reviewed by Jill Heslop
5*****
A packed Theatre Royal in Nottingham enjoyed the last leg of the current tour of Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, the pop musical directed by Amy Hodge. With music by Miranda Cooper and Jennifer Decilveo, this is a lively, joy-filled musical adaptation of Kate Pankhurst’s award winning book series of the same name.
During the one and a half hour show, we meet such icons as: Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Mary Seacole, Marie Curie, Jane Austen and Emmeline Pankhurst. And what fun this history lesson is! Aimed at children 7 years old and above, there is wonderful singing and choreography bringing to life the biographies of these exceptional women and creating a life-affirming show.
Schoolgirl Jade, played with a lovely innocence by Georgia Grant-Anderson, is lost inside the museum on a school trip, feeling a little dejected and confused by life’s challenges. Never fear, Fantasically Great Women of history to the rescue! We have a fun and instructive meeting with Amelia Earhart the solo pilot, played by Leah Vassell with a fab American accent and a dashing costume; Gertrude Ederle, the record beating Channel swimmer played with great sport by Chloe Hart and Sacagawea, Summer Priest, the hero of the American West. But that’s not all! Enter Emmeline Pankhurst, boldly rendered by Jennifer Caldwell, the grand dame of them all, leading the band of women to votes and emancipation. An all-female cast leading us the audience and Jade, Georgia Grant-Anderson, on this fact-filled adventure!
I loved the singing and dancing, the coordinated moves, the colourful costumes: this is a fun musical and a great night out! The warmth and humour spills out between all of the characters as they support each other and young Jade (Georgia Grant-Anderson) as she navigates her journey through the perils and pitfalls of growing up in a world where she feels nobody notices her.
A wonderfully well-spoken Jane Austen, played delightfully by Chloe Hart, introduces us to a feisty Frida Kahlo, played with a beautiful boldness by Summer Priest. There are lots of mischievous jokes for those in the audience who know a little of their lives already, and plenty of entertainment in the on-stage antics.
A sadder, more sombre tone is signalled with the appearance of Rosa Parks, played with suitable dignity by Leah Vassell and Anne Frank, Millie Kiss, where we acknowledge that not every story has a happy ending. This is well handled with the wisdom coming from Leah Vassell in the character of Rosa Parks, the voice of experience and reassurance, speaking to the innocence and confusion in Jade (Georgia Grant- Anderson) which we all feel about such complex and disturbing realities. These complexities and difficulties are important to acknowledge for young people and they do it well.
This is a feel-good musical with the lives of such great women brought to life with vigour and courage leaving us with the message that we all need to go out and live life to the fullest!