**** 4 Stars
“Brimming with old school theatre charm! “
One of Edinburgh’s longest running local companies Southern Light return to the Festival Theatre for there last full scale musical at the venue before returning to the revamped King’s Theatre in the spring of next year with a production of the musical classic Guys and Dolls with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows and the company deliver a production briming with old school theatre charm!.
Guys and Dolls debuted in November 1950 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (Then the 46th Street Theatre) following a trial at the Shubert theatre in Philadelphia and gained instant success becoming a beloved classic over the following 75 plus years. There was a motion picture adaptation in 1955 featuring Marlon Brando and the show has been revived or reinterpreted numerous times over the year and is firm favourite with local companies up and down the country.
It’s Intriguing that Edinburgh’s oldest local company have taken on the show for the first time, Directed by Andy Johnston with Musical Direction by Fraser Hume and Choreography from Janice Bruce the creative team have delivered a joyful show by allowing the writing and performances to shine through rather than to reinvent a practically perfect musical wheel.
Performances are uniformly good across the boards with the nearly 70 strong ensemble cast shining in every moment under those bright lights. The leads are excellent Greg McCafferty-Thomson’s “Sky Masterson” is understated but intelligent and he has the vocals to really sell his songs. Olivia Hall as “Sarah Brown” brings a naive charm to the role that works beautifully especially as she blossoms towards the end of the show. John Bruce is in fine form as “Nathan Detroit” giving him the right edge guile to match the comedy. Speaking of comedy, Fionn Cameron is a smash as “Nicely – Nicely John” delivering a triple threat package! His comedy skills match his vocal and dancing abilities with incredible agility he is wonderful to watch. Special mention must go to Lara Kidd as “Miss Adelaide” a true leading lady performance in the vein of Ethel Merman. Kidd shines from the off and has a voice that’s as at home in the west end as it would be on Broadway.
While performances are great there is an issue with pacing and the show does feel sluggish with the over all run time coming in at the 3-hour mark, to many pauses made the show feel its length, however this will undoubtable tighten as the show continues to bed into its run.
Production wise Southern Light have delivered a highly worthy production with Andy Johnston’s set design helping the production along no end. This is boosted by Lee Murphy’s video design which gives the show an almost animated feel which adds to the joyous comedy of the piece. James Gow’s Lighting design hits the mark beautifully from the evocative sewers to the bright lights of Broadway to the simplicity of the prayer hall Gow’s designs add a rich beauty to the piece.
Paul Smith (Apex Acoustics) sound design is on the money balancing the large cast against Humes 16-piece orchestra who incidentally bring a rich full sound quality to the timeless score. The real cherry on this guys and dolls cake is Sandra Summers utterly sublime costume design thats pure quality and charm in equal measure.
Southern Light have ensured they have bowed out of the Festival Theatre in style with a production that oozes quality with Johnston Direction bringing out both the best in the writing and the performances. If the pacing could be just that much sharper so it zips along it would be all the better for it. For now, don’t sit down too long or even rock the boat! Head to the Festival Theatre and grab what tickets remain!
Southern Light Presents Guys and Dolls, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Runs until Saturday 16th May, for more information and tickets go to: Guys and Dolls – Capital Theatres
Southern Light have confirmed they will return to Edinburgh’s Kings Theatre in May 2027 for a new production of Titanic the musical.
ScotsGay Arts 