A sassy new 90s TV show musical where the audience decide the ending, complete with a host of original songs written by Rachel Walker Mason and a light-hearted and relevant script by Eloise Hodder.Rating
Excellent
The story invites the audience to join the energetic film crew on the set of Sugarbye – a fictional 90s TV talk show where the contestants share their stories before saying farewell to their adulterous other half. As unusual as it sounds, the concept really works, especially with the upbeat and ‘Six’ style songs interwoven in between. Hodder’s script suitably builds the pace and drama of the piece, maintaining the light-hearted comic flow throughout as the colourful characters share their heartfelt stories.
There are some very strong character and vocal performances from all the cast, but particular mentions must go to Daisy Bullock as the fiery Izzie- some very powerful vocals from this young 16-year-old performer. Dominique Skinner brings a super sassy and confident host Marine Ricci to life with excellent vocal control and smooth interaction with the audience whilst Danny Walker portrays a very lovable and fabulous Lex.
The musical numbers are very cleverly crafted with witty and ambitious lyrics depicting each unique character perfectly and effectively transporting us back to the 90s. The title song ‘Bye Sugar Bye’ had a very Spice Girls feel to it whilst other numbers captured the well-loved hip-hop quality of 90s rap songs.
A very simple set comprising of a few chairs and a well utilised projection screen with live footage captured by Joel Rothwell as camera man Jamie. This was a clever technical feature and really added to the busy TV studio illusion as well as drawing us into each individual character during their storytelling sequences. Costumes were also in keeping with the time period and suitably depicted the individual characters.
The climax of the show involves several audience members sharing ideas for the ending of the piece- an ambitious idea indeed which requires the cast to be both flexible and adaptable. This approach, of course, relies on the audience’s ability to enter into the spirit of the production which they certainly did on this occasion, and the cast maintained the flow of this interaction well before closing the storyline with another whole cast number.
An enjoyable and creative night of theatre, the on point and relatable nature of the piece could really take this show far and appeal to a modern audience.
Music and Lyrics: Rachel Walker Mason
Script: Eloise Hodder
Sugarbye played for one night only at Tobacco Factory on 16 September.
