Review: BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL, Southbank Centre

Photo credit: Helen Maybanks

Another musical that we've known was coming for a very long time has finally opened at the Queen Elizabeth Hall before heading out on tour across the UK. The show delivers on its promise of fantastic choreography and cheerleading, and features a talented and energetic cast, but unfortunately lacks a compelling story to go along with it.

Its stunt casting of Amber Davies does not hinder the production, she puts in the work and delivers all of the notes necessary and puts on a very entertaining performance. However, due to the writing of her character Campbell, it is incredibly difficult to "cheer" for her as she is not particularly well written and does many irredeemable things that are simply glossed over in the script. Davies deserves better material than this to truly show off the talent she has.

This is also the case for the rest of the cast who deserve more credit than they are given. Vanessa Fisher is a stand out as Danielle; a clear triple threat who we can tell has a lot to look forward to in her career beyond this production. When she performs alongside Georgia Bradshaw's Nautica and Jal Joshua's La Cienega, the stage is electric. Every beat of Fabian Aloise's choreography is hit with precision and enough energy to fill the Queen Elizabeth Hall and then some.

The issues with this show lie solely in its book, written by Jeff Whitty, which is both surprising and disappointing as he is responsible for some brilliant work (even winning the Tony Award for Avenue Q in 2004). Act 1 takes too long to get moving and although the second half of the act shows promise and leaves you intrigued, Act 2 loses itself completely in 2000's tropes that should've stayed firmly in the 2000's. Characters commit irredeemable acts and fail to face the consequences of their actions meaning that the ending is not earned or believable in the slightest. It's hard to believe that over six separate productions in its lifetime, no changes have been made to improve this piece.

This is unfortunate as every other aspect of this production is pulled off incredibly well. There is ambitious and immersive lighting design by Matt Daw, the scenic design by Libby Watson does well to place you in the school gym halls we know all too well. And of course, any music involving Lin Manuel Miranda is sure to linger in the head for days to come. It's just so hard to look past the most important thing in the production: the story itself.

While the talented young cast have, we are sure, incredible careers ahead of them and manage to achieve incredible feats in this musical, it's a show that sadly didn't need another revival.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Callum Wallace

Bring It On plays at the Southbank Centre until 22 January, with tickets available here.