Heathers The Musical

Review by James

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Heathers The Musical makes a triumphant return to the city that first embraced its pitch-black riff on teenage angst and school homicide.

School may be out for summer, but Westerberg High is flinging its doors open for another production of Emo Grease. It may come as a surprise to some that Heathers has such a huge cult following given its focus on the extreme (everything from bulimia and bullying through to teen suicide and sexual assault) but its massive soundtrack and sharp writing has ensured it avoids the cancellation trap.

The catchily named ‘The Arts at Marble Arch Powered by @todaytix’ (seriously) makes its debut as London’s newest off-off West End theatre. A pop-up cattle shed alongside one of London’s busiest roads, it is hard to escape the omnipresent city soundscape of piercing police sirens and car horns, but the percussive drive of the excellent band does a stand-up job of neutralising those constant distractions. Mercifully, it’s only a temporary structure.

Rockstar receptions from the assembled superfans welcome lead cast members Gerardine Sacdalan (Veronica Sawyer) and the swaggering trio of Heathers during the raucous opening number. Sacdalan, a gifted comedy actress, delivers a fantastic performance sweeping everything before her and is adeptly complemented by Louis Hearsey’s gently menacing J.D as they rapidly descend towards an orgy of violence against classmates.

The secret ingredient to Heathers is its company-wide approach with most characters benefiting from big solo performances. That said, Sophie Manners, the bullied Martha Dunnstock, whose stunning mournful vocals shatter hearts during Kindergarten Boyfriend is criminally underused.

There’s no doubt that the saccharine lyrics and music can jar with the undeniably sensitive subject matter but as the body count mounts it’s hard to resist the madness.