Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 24 February 2024
Reviewed by Amy V Gathercole
4****
Fresh from the West End on its first nationwide tour, following a nomination for Best New Musical at the 2022 Olivier Awards, Drifters Girl is the current show to see.
Drifters Girl is a delight for all the senses. It tells the (I suspect not well-known) story of Faye Treadwell (the excellent Carly Mercedes Dyer), who was the legendary tenacious manager of The Drifters. The iconic part was played by Beverley Knight in the original show and Carly Mercedes Dyer’s takes on the role on this tour, her vocals are some of the best I’ve ever heard! She’s sassy and a woman with a lot of gumption, who fought for what she felt was right.
Faye was a no-nonsense woman who broke a lot of rules in a male-dominated world and industry. In a business inhabited by men, their opinions and their whims, she made history as the manager of the iconic band, despite personal troubles and legal battles.
The Drifters are a band that had many hits across three decades but more interestingly a revolving door of members. Some of the reasons for band members leaving and dealing with the successes are tackled in the show with tact and respect, which is great to see, as it’s a tough balance to strike.
The four male co-stars, Miles Anthony Daley, Tarik Frimpong, Daniel Haswell and Ashford Campbell are all brilliant. They seamlessly and constantly switch between being in the band and crooning hits including Saturday Night At The Movies, Save The Last Dance For Me and the unforgettable Stand By Me, among many more memorable songs.
The four of them expertly play different incarnations of The Drifters throughout the decades. They also capture the personalities and conflicts of the group members, who had to deal with fame, racism, and personal issues.
The talented actors take on a more demanding and challenging role than traditionally, as they not only play multiple members of the band, but they also play every other male (and sometimes female) character besides Faye and her daughter too.
The show is full of comic interludes as one of the lads pops up as a drinks girl or hotel receptionist and it’s great to see a harmony struck between the tragedies and the memories – as Faye takes the audience through her story and her truth.
The costumes are great, depicting different styles as the years advance, so do the fashion. Fay Fullerton designed them and they are colourful and authentic, reflecting the changing styles of the eras with style.
The staging and set design by Anthony Ward is minimal but effective, to allow for all the quick changes of location, decade and setting. The lighting is cleverly used and the set is largely created through the clever art of projections, sometimes a recording studio, sometimes a talk show and other times backstage.
The choreography by Karen Bruce is lively and fun, incorporating elements of doo-wop, soul, and disco and with the music it will keep your toes tapping through this fast-paced, hit-filled delight of a show!
“Keep your toes tapping through this fast paced, hit-filled delight of a show!”