Guys and Dolls at Bridge Theatre London: An immersive show

And let me tell you, it’s incredible when they are – something I now know after seeing Guys and Dols at the Bridge Theatre.

The audience members with standing tickets are literally immersed into the show and into the action – and the way it’s done is so clever, entertaining and all-round brilliant.

I was seated in the stalls, and the stalls surrounded the floor which was the stage.

At first, as those with standing tickets piled in, my boyfriend and I were quite confused as to where the actors and actresses would perform, worried we would not be able to see them well among the audience members, and wondering how a show can be so greatly acclaimed if any member of the public can be part of it.

How wrong we were!

As the show started, parts of the ground rose around audience members to form a stage – which worked in parts so that parts of it were risen at different times, and at others they were flat and able to be stood on by the audience as different scenes were acted out.

There were directors in the audience who carefully placed viewers to ensure that it ran smoothly, was not disruptive, and worked as though the audience members had practised being in the show before.

They were transported onto the streets of Manhattan and the bars of Havana in the unlikeliest of love stories, and I loved watching it.

The set was incredible, including the different shining lights which fell from the ceiling to set the scene, and the quick movement of different props onto rising parts of the ground.

The music was sublime, and so was the acting, and it was a real feel good show with laughter, clapping, singing and standing from the whole of the audience.

The show is on until August 31, 2024 and I’d really recommend anyone go as a special treat out.

Sky Materson and Sarah Brown (Image: Manuel Harlan)

Daniel Mays played Nathan Detriot hilariously, and George Ioannides was the perfect hunk as Sky Materson.

Marisha Wallace played Miss Adelaide, and she was mesmerising in her ability to dance, and Celinde Schoenmaker was the beautiful Sarah Brown, who the whole audience loved.