Theatre Royal, Nottingham – until 12th September 2026
Reviewed by Lauren Fordham
4****
Heathers The Musical is described as ‘High School Musical’s darker, dirtier cousin.’ Based on the cult 1988 film by Daniel Waters, its book, music and lyrics were written by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe. It follows Veronica Sawyer, a teenage misfit at Westerberg High School who infiltrates the most powerful yet cruel girls’ clique, that of three girls named Heather, and, accompanied and encouraged by her boyfriend JD, manipulates and murders her classmates.
Gerardine Sacdalan deftly handles Veronica’s trajectory through high school, rising from the margins of high school society at the beginning of the show ‘I pray, I pray I pray…things will get better,’ to ingratiating herself with the Heathers due to her forgery letter-writing abilities ‘I crave a boon, let me sit at your table, no talking necessary.’ But it’s in the second half of the show that Sacdalan truly shines, belting out ‘I Say No!’ to Louis Hearsey’s JD, with the skill of a future superstar.
Hearsey’s JD evokes both pity as a rootless, motherless loner numbing his suicidal thoughts with a slushy in the number ‘Freeze Your Brain’, and fear of the violence he threatens in ‘Our Love is God.’ ‘They”ll die because we say they must.’
Liberty Stottor steals the show as the ‘mythic bitch’ Heather Chandler, being both bullying in the Heathers’ opening earworm ‘Candy Store,’ ‘I’d normally slap your face off – and brilliantly comically melodramatic as a ghost after Veronica kills her: ‘No one thinks a pretty girl has feelings…Jesus, you’re making me sound like Air Supply.’
Ben Cracknell’s use of spotlights on the Heathers that coordinate with the colour of their dresses dovetails beautifully with David Shields’ costume choices, giving the Heathers a separate uniform almost, to indicate their superiority to the rest of the student body.
Gary Lloyd’s choreography is almost balletic, particularly when Ram Sweeney (Beau Jackson) and Kurt Kelly (Markus Södergren) fight with JD.
The use of cafeteria trays in the opening number and David Shields’ Rottweiler school crest gives a strong sense of place, and the use of a split level stage makes the school seem huge and more imposing. Unfortunately wheelchair users such as myself, being forced to sit under the overhang at the back of the stalls (better seats are normally available but were rendered inaccessible due to a malfunctioning lift) are prevented from seeing a lot of what happens on the balcony, affecting understanding of some of the scenes and definitely impacting enjoyment. I’ve always been on the side of the underdog and was particularly sad to only be able to hear, not see, Sophie Manners’ Martha Dunnstock’s Kindergarten Boyfriend.
But amidst the violence there is a lot of humour in Heathers, I particularly liked Ram’s (John Gurdían) and Kurt’s dad’s (Reuben Browne’s) recollection of their own homosexual encounter whilst celebrating Ram and Kurt’s lives in the raucous, rainbow-tied My Dead Gay Son.
There are many big talents in this company, go see them and enjoy a show that is dark and perverse but also big fun!