Bonnie & Clyde

Many thanks to Fylde Coast Theatreworx for inviting me to see their production of Bonnie & Clyde at Thornton Little Theatre on Friday 4th August 2023. This production tells the story of the infamous bandit couple’s relationship, starting with their early years, their acquaintance & continuing through their dysfunctional love story, from prison escapes, armed robberies as fugitives and through to (spoiler alert) their death within a police ambush. The show captures the couple’s devotion to one another, which led to their demise.

Directed by Debbie Parkinson & Hannah Brook, this work was an excellent piece of very well-crafted storytelling, which took the audience along this narrative in a dynamic way, layering various theatrical techniques to amplify the emotional catharsis with the audience, which, I unashamedly admit, brought a tear to my eye upon the button. There was a great pace to the production using interesting staging throughout. I loved the investment in the entire cast’s characterisation, it was obvious to me that investment was given into creating these from the production team, as there was detailed minutia within their physicalities, idiosyncracies & depth of thought & purpose; it was difficult to remember at times, we were watching a youth production.

The choreography was undertaken by Steph Gennett & was integrated nicely into the production. Most of the choreography to me was in a dance theatre style, where, rather than being an ornament in addition to the production, it was embedded into the acting, giving each movement meaning & purpose.

Musical Direction & vocal coaching was provided by Cameron Ashall & Alice Burr.  The entire score was a delight to listen to and underpinned the narrative of the production well. Like the choreography, it was embedded into the narrative, using the song to be the monologue of the production, giving insight into thoughts and feelings. There were tight harmonies & blends throughout delivered by some remarkable talent within the cast.

The set for the production was mostly minimal, having suggestive trucks and items of furniture brought on in blackout to provide variance in scene location. I was impressed with the car which was custom-built for the production and was placed upon a raised platform upstage. It was only used in poignant moments in the production & was hidden for the main through a drawn-in curtain blocking off the back quarter of the stage. The car had functioning headlights which beamed into the audience & a rotating steering wheel & that looked authentic to the 1930s American setting for the production. The lighting was mainly washes and fades, with some spotlit sections for intimate & internalised moments. Pace was lost with the blackouts & lengthy scene changes & perhaps a more stylised approach to these have retained the momentum better. Costumes for the show were fitting to the characters, location & setting & I was impressed with their authenticity & the logistics which must have gone into some of the quick changes the cast made.

As a general note, the cast was strong, well-drilled & intuned with one another. I need to call out the Southern USA accents which the whole cast spoke consistently. The ensemble was strong & it was obvious that a great amount of time & dedication was invested into the rehearsal process from all members.

The leads for the production were played by Maisie Brook & Owen Dickinson.  This pair shone throughout the production, both bringing impeccable characterisations & exceptional vocal abilities & got the chance to showcase their vocal technique & range through the score. Their acting through song was a delight and their retention of character throughout the song ensured each moment was cohesive within the show. My only critique of this pair would be that there were moments of detachment between them, I think due to their playing to the audience rather than each other, which detracted from the love story element, this was ever so minor that was only slightly noticeable.

Young Bonnie & Clyde was played by Emma Hartley-Melling & Jacob Tidswell & Katie Pennington playing Teen Bonnie. They kicked the performance off with the song ‘Picture Show’ which was impressively sung with a strong focus presenting the pair’s backstory with Bonnie wishing to be a movie star & Clyde's ambition of becoming a Billy the Kid style outlaw. They reappeared at moments throughout the production when the couple reminisce on their childhoods. 

Clyde’s brother, Buck, & was played by Isaac Ashcroft who had a great presence on stage & brought some invaluable comedic moments to the intense drama through quick-witted text & some moments of playful foolishness, which lightened the mood. Opposite Buck was Georgina Bamber playing Blanche. This character goes through a vast array of emotions within the production, all of which were presented maturely & sensitively which invested the audience into her story. The duet ‘You Love Who You Love’, sung with Bonnie, was nothing short of a nightingale song & was one of the highlights of the show for me.

Luke Moore played the sheriff & unrequited love interest of Bonnie, Ted. He gave a solid, grounded performance & similarly to above, the duet with Clyde's ‘You Can Do Better Than Him’ was auditory excellence. 

Caitlin Moran played Clyde’s mother, Cummy, who beamed when onstage, displaying emotional maturity with the gravitas she held within the role. 

Charlie Warren enthusiastically played Preacher and delivered his songs with passion. Finishing the principal cast were Kiera Peake as Emma, Rhys Cullen as Bud/ Archie, Josh Coster as Henry/ Hamer, Sienna Williams as Stella / Guard, Elaina Wormald as Elenore Stuart Wade Stevenson as Sheriff, Jess Cogley as Guard / Deputy Johnson & Alice Burr as Governor Ferguson who all delivered with conviction & energy.

I would like to close with a notable mention of the ethical value of the production team for allowing different members of the cast to play alternating parts within the run as this would have taken extra rehearsal time & planning to embed into the production, but for this, allowing additional cast members to gain the experience of creating differing characters within the span of the run and giving more opportunities for their members to take on more principal roles. 

Thanks again to Flyde Coast Theatreworx for inviting me to this wonderful production. I look forwards to watching your version of DarkNet in December.

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