Birmingham Hippodrome – until 20th April 2024
Reviewed by Emma Millward
4****
The Drifters Girl made its world premiere at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle in 2021. Telling the story of Faye Treadwell who, after the untimely death of her husband George, became one of the first African-American woman managers, who would eventually turn The Drifters name into a brand that she fought many legal battles over.
Writer Ed Curtis takes us on a journey through the story of the success and many, many line-up changes since the formation of the band in 1953. There were over sixty different band members during the course of the band’s history. This constant change means there is a lot of information to cover, and unfortunately, I felt this made the storyline feel a little hectic and left it feeling slightly rushed to fit everything in.
The cast consists of a small ensemble of six performers. Carly Mercedes Dyer in the role of Faye Treadway, Jada Bell-Ricketts as Faye’s daughter Tina/Girl and playing The Drifters are Miles Anthony Daley, Ashford Campbell, Tarin Frimpong and Daniel Haswell. Every male character in the show is played by these four male leads. This can become confusing at times, as you aren’t sure which of the 60+ band members or other characters they are portraying. Character changes often happen with the swap of a jacket or a hat, with the audience sometimes left to figure out which characters are which.
The character of Faye Treadwell has a lot of stage time, but the show doesn’t really delve into her story as much as I would have expected. A lot of plot points are told to the audience rather than being acted out onstage. The cast work well together though, and definitely throw themselves into the many varied characters they have to play. I enjoyed the cheeky nod to Sir Bruce Forsyth when the band were playing at the London Palladium.
The show, of course, has an amazing soundtrack, with lots of instantly recognisable Drifters hits. The music captivated the audience from the first note. The live band (Dustin Conrad, James Beal, Eleanor Sandbrook, Dan Taylor, Dan Booth, Bret Vanderburg and Charlie Maguire) were phenomenal. The vocals from all the cast were amazing, especially from Carly Mercedes Dyer who belted out the tunes with such power. The original show featured Beverley Knight as Treadwell. Those are big shoes to fill and Dyer achieved that throughout!
Fay Fullerton’s costume design is exquisite, depicting the different fashions as the years progressed. Anthony Ward’s set design is minimal, but makes the perfect backdrop for the show. Clever use of projections and lighting are used to change the scenes. Karen Bruce’s choreography works perfectly for the songs being performed and gives an authentic soulful feel to proceedings.
In all, the production works well, considering the vast amount of story to cover in a two-hour show. More could have been told of Faye Treadwell’s inspiring story and her relationship with her daughter. I left the theatre feeling I still didn’t know the whole story of The Drifters, but I definitely enjoyed a few hours of joyful, feel-good music that made the audience want to get up and dance!!