We saw the show at the Theatre Royal in Brighton and I think it's the smallest theatre I've sat in for a long time. You can see how old it is though just by walking into the foyer of the theatre. We were sat 5 rows back from the front and we had a pretty good view until some tall people sat in front of us so we struggled to see a tiny bit until the 2nd half where we decided to see if they had any booster seats for us to sit on because me and my mum are only short . There was an elderly couple who turned up on the wrong day , a lady stabbed my toe twice with her walking stick and some woman lost her husband and couldn't find her seat.
The show finally began and it started off with the audience being introduced to the drag stars of the club ! The costumes were actually amazing and I've never seen so much detail in one costume in all my life. From fur to sequins , the attention to detail that had gone into every single costume was beautifully executed. The dancing at the beginning had me in awe as the dancers were incredible ! They made a high kick look like nothing and the choreography was just brilliant. We are then taken to the apartment where Zaza is late for her performance in the club.
Zaza was played by John Partridge who has previously been in A Chorus Line , Eastenders ,Celebrity Big Brother and a lot of other things. I wasn't to sure what to expect from him because I'd never actually heard him sing before but oh my god what a voice ! He portrayed the role of Zaza brilliantly and was so funny too. The way John portrayed Albin was a completely different side compared to Zaza. There was more emotion and less sass than Zaza but he still remained to have the witty sense of humour that Zaza carries when she performs.
Georges, the owner of the club and Albins husband was played by Adrian Zmed who has been in the broadway production of La Cage Aux Folle , the leader of the T Birds in Grease 2 and a lot more. The chemistry between Albin and Georges was definitely there and the comedic side to Georges was absolutely wonderful. His relationship with his son , Jean Michele , who was played by Dougie Carter was a bit of a weird one but you could definitely sense that Georges wanted to do everything he could to make sure that his son was happy even if it did result in a bad situation.
In one scene in the club Zaza is doing her act where the audience watching the show , becomes the audience in the drag club. He made a joke about some woman's top being from per una and the best part was it actually was from per una which the whole theatre erupted with a gigantic roar of laughter.
From heartbreak to laughter the show had my emotions flying around constantly. It was absolutely incredible just everything about the show was perfect and I'd definitely recommend seeing it if you can because it was literally amazing ! I'm not sure how long the show is touring for as it's been on tour for a while now but it it rocks up to a theatre near you then definitely go and see it ! As birthday surprises go this was such a wonderful surprise and I really didn't expect to be spending the afternoon in a theatre at all !
Speak soon ,
