Bugsy Malone

Review by: Paul Towers, 24 August 2016

Bugsy Malone by Alan Parker and Paul Williams

A Curve Community Production

Curve 19 – 28 August

“wondrously fun night out”

Where to begin? This has to be one of the funniest, energetic, feel good shows on any stage any time.

With a cast that is only aged 12 to 17, with the exception of  9yr old Amica Kuroda, the talent is unbelievable. Every single one of them sings, dances and acts their socks off.

Bugsy Malone is inspired by the antics of one Al Capone and Bugs Moran, notorious gangsters of 1920’s New York. Written in 1976 by Alan Parker, who went on to carve out a very successful career as a director of such seminal films as Midnight Cowboy, Fame and The Commitments, this proves that early on in his career that he could do musicals as well as heavy dramatic stories. His collaboration with renowned songwriter Paul Williams produced a hugely enjoyable show which still fills theatres after 40 years.

As he wanted specifically to cast teenagers for all the roles, thus adding a surreal element to the ‘blood and gore’, he had to find a way to sanitise the violence. This was achieved by the invention of ‘splurge guns’ which fired lethal doses of custard alongside the obligatory standard custard pies in lieu of bullets.

Under the direction of Curve’s Nick Winston we have a large cast of hugely talented local young performers filling a cleverly designed set by David Woodhead with the two gangs of old school villains vying for power in the city.

A slight storyline never gets in the way of great dance routines, hilarious one liners and an ultimately beautiful  love story between Bugsy and dancer Blousey.

If you manage to get a ticket before Sunday be warned that copious amounts of ‘custard’ end up on audience members throughout the stalls and you may even end up as part of the finale on stage in Fat Sam’s Grand Slam club

14 year old Joel Fossard-Jones is superb as Bugsy, while 15 year old Maeve Wood as Blousey  torch sings her way through the story.

The set is a series of gantries and stairs which, thanks to lighting designer Ben Cracknell, provides every backdrop the story needs. A huge  Japanese style framework provides a proscenium arch and front cloth upon which is projected all sorts of locations and animations. The onstage band, ranged round the back of the set, gives a depth to the sound which would be hard to replicate if it were in a pit.

All in all this is a wondrously fun night out that will leave you humming the songs as you walk home.

First published in Western Gazette