Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester – until 27 January 2018. Reviewed by Marcus Richardson
4****
Guy and Dolls at the Royal Exchange is the first ever all black cast of the show in the UK. With the show being a famous musical about love and gambling, it has its high reputation in the theatre world. This was my first time at the Royal Exchange and I was impressed with the unique layout of the venue.
The cast of 21 put on a show that gave us standard you would expect for a show of this calibre. Being performed in the round gave this a whole new dynamic to the show that opens up so many possibilities. When performing in the round sometimes you lose a little bit of action but the actors knew how to work the stage and gave the audience a show and a half.
It would be hard to review a musical without mentioning singing and dancing, the whole cast took the music of the show at made it something I enjoyed very music, and the song Sit down, you’re rocking the boat earned an applause that last a good 30 seconds. The dancing was well timed and the attention to detail was impeccable. Although it’s the first black cast, it never once felt like that was niche of the production, the actors suited the role and with the the influence of the Harlem Renaissance it fitted the time very well.
The set involved a revolving segment of the stage which was used very well and made scene changes effective and happen while action is going on stage. When entering the the theatre space I was blown back by the set and how it fitted so well in a round. With a corner shop taking up part of the stage. The cast worked on most scene changes and nothing was done that didn’t needed to be done. Seamless and effective sums up the stage which compliments and helps the actors.
The show is something I would see again, it’s a feel good show with a happy ending. If you are into musicals then I’m sure you will love this. It’s good to see such a fabulous cast perform at such a high level.