31 October – 11 November

There is much to enjoy in this lively and frequently amusing musical version of Pretty Woman. However, there is no doubt that it is best to leave one’s socially aware sensibilities at the door, for the sexual politics on display are well past their sell-by date. The programme notes tell us that when co-writer Garry Marshall first encountered the story it was a ‘much darker tale’ than the frothy confection he went on to create. Back in the early 1980s a glossy rom-com featuring a prostitute, Vivian, as its central character may have been deemed OK, but here and now there are elements of the narrative that seem distinctly questionable. There is some attempt to suggest that Vivian attains personal autonomy, or ‘freedom’, but given that she achieves this by becoming the mistress of a very rich businessman, Pretty Woman fails to convince as a portrait of female empowerment.

Having got that substantial difficulty out of the way, it should be said that there is much to applaud in the performances of the main rôles, which succeed in injecting energy and some dramatic interest into what is rather tired and cliché-ridden material. Amber Davies has clearly matured as both an actor and singer since she won Love Island six years ago. Here she creates a feisty, rough-around-the- edges but very likeable Vivian, and in Act Two particularly there is real poignancy in her delivery of the numbers This Is My Life and I Can’t Go Back. She is ably partnered by Oliver Savile as asset-stripper Edward, and their developing relationship is depicted with considerable charm. Strictly winner Ore Oduba is especially impressive as Mr Thompson, the manager of the Beverly Wilshire hotel. He has the precious knack of instantly connecting with an audience, and the dancing lesson he gives Vivian is a comic highlight.

There is nothing new in turning a story about a working girl into musical entertainment, and here Edward briefly quotes a witticism from George Bernard Shaw, whose Pygmalion became My Fair Lady. More direct cross-referencing to a similar narrative occurs in the cleverly staged scene where Edward takes Vivian to the opera to see La Traviata, where Lila Falce-Bass is a thrillingly voiced Violeta. Thus, in this show’s weightiest and most inventive sequence, one ‘fallen woman’ is moved by the tragic tale of another. Elsewhere the narrative is all wafer-thin predictability.

Apart from that brief extract from Verdi, all the music is the work of Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. Their songs are never less than serviceable and some, especially I Can’t Go Back, are both lyrically and musically effective. Griff Johnson’s six-piece orchestra delivers the goods, and had the audience clapping along at the finale with a performance of, inevitably, Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman. Though this may not rank among the very best of musicals, the standing ovation last night’s performance received was well-earned.

★★★☆☆  Mike Whitton, 2nd November, 2023

Photo credit: Marc Brenner