Bonnie And Clyde - Drury Lane/Arts Theatre/Garrick/Tour

I enjoyed it more than the London run as the two Leads seemed to me to have more chemistry. The only thing I would say is that imo the staging suits a smaller theatre - the Grand at Wolverhampton is a big old space and some of the intimacy was lost as a consequence. The band sounded excellent albeit they were hidden away in the pit. Some brilliant voices and I thought Catherine Tyldesley as Blanche was excellent.

Another JD, they really got a type.

This doesn't seem to be selling great in Bath

I was sent a discount code for Tuesday through to Thursday evenings - BONNIE2950 .

Premium seats for £29.50.

It’s always a conflicted experience seeing Bonnie & Clyde because Frank Wildhorn’s score is so good and stacked with great musical numbers - however, Ivan Menchell’s book often leaves me cold and, in many ways, frustrated.

It is still a fantastic show and I enjoyed it on what is now my third viewing. But each time I’ve seen it, the auditorium capacity has essentially doubled in size and it definitely loses something as a result. Nothing can beat the intimacy of seeing this show at the 350-seater Arts Theatre.

That being said, the score is the same one I’ve been listening to on loop for several years. Seeing a Clyde build up to Raise a Little Hell or a Bonnie belting Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad will never lose its impact for me. Alex James-Hatton is suitably intense as Clyde, while Katie Tonkinson brings an extra spark to Bonnie.

My issue has always been that we never truly understand the motivations for their crime/killing spree beyond greed. Their family back story’s are only touched upon and we see little of those relationships. As an audience, we are expected to go along with too many whims rather than being shown what led to, for example, Bonnie going along with Clyde’s criminal streak even after killing for the first time. Perhaps it would have been best off focussing on one particular event in their lives rather than their entireties?

Special mention for Oonagh Cox, a very late stand-in for Catherine Tyldesley (who I’d hoped to catch due to Eva Price being one of my all-time Corrie favourites!) as Blanche. Despite the show starting 20 minutes late and audible groans from the audience when Tyldesley was announced as indisposed, she gave a wonderfully nuanced performance, playing Blanche as more passive and shell-shocked than I’d seen before.

It’s still a great night out but Bonnie & Clyde is best served in a smaller space for the audience to genuinely hang on every moment.

Four stars.

Considering how ATG screwed me over when they changed venues - moving my second row seat in the Opera House to 6-8 rows back in the palace, telling me they kept me as close to the original seat as possible, then putting the same seat on sale as a 'package seat' for 3 times the amount - I do feel like there is a little bit of Karma kicking in for their greedy behaviour

I tried customer services, who only said that they could try and speak to the theatre to see if they would reduce the price.  I emailed the CEO and his team at the time refunded the ticket.  A couple of weeks later my original seat was discounted cheaper than the price I originally paid due to being a single seat, so worked out OK for me in the end - still really bad form on ATG's part, but not surprising.

Caught this tonight for the first time in Bath, I really enjoyed the music and the acting / characterisation all round. Lauren Jones as Bonnie is fab with a gorgeous voice !! I loved the use of mild projection backdrops too that enhanced the scenery - some other shows could take notes …
Show stop during Act 2 due to a technical difficulty but resumed shortly after. I’d recommend the show:)

Saw the show tonight in Manchester.  The show started just over 15 mins late due to a technical issue.  

Alex James-Hatton nailed the role of Clyde and had great chemistry with Katie Tonkinson, although feel like the book could have explored the early relationship a bit more, I feel that Clyde as a character is almost believable in his journey to 'raise a little hell' despite only lightly touching on certain elements, Bonnie's journey doesn't feel fully explored as she goes from waitress to murderer.

Great casting overall and as mentioned above use of projection to enhance scenery.

Easily a 4/5 for me.

Great that the concert streaming is on its way. Pics look like a full staging. Is it less developed than the Arts Theatre run and current tour, or broadly similar to what followed? Nick Winston has become a star of these concert stagings.
[This is probably answered above, but relevant again now]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why it has taken so long for this to be (finally) released?

Whilst I appreciate that it will be streaming, does anyone know if there will be a DVD/Blu-Ray release in the future?

Ticket-holders for Cliffs Pavilion Southend have been e-mailed saying that the tour has been cancelled by the producers with immediate effect.

(Though there seems to be confusion as to whether this is just Southend this week or the whole thing!)