I went to see Heathers the Musical at Dartford’s Orchard Theatre and I was laughing, dancing and sat on the edge of my seat.
Heathers the Musical is the stage musical adaptation of the 1989 teen comedy film staring Winona Ryder, and is now touring across the UK following its success on the West End.
The plot is centred in Westerberg High School in the USA during the late 80s, long before smartphones and social media were invented.
We are first introduced to main character Veronica Sawyer, played by Jenna Innes, in her rendition of the opening song “Beautiful”.
The school is made all the high school stereotypical characters from the jocks, the nerds, the drama types, the regular students and the Heathers.
We are soon introduced to the three Heathers - Heather Chandler played by Verity Thompson, Heather Duke played by Elise Zavou and Heather McNamara played by Billie Bowman.
The Heathers rule the school as the popular mean girls, keeping the other students in check with their killer tongues and envied looks and popularity.
She is soon transformed with a makeover but promises to herself not to let her morals be transformed in the process.
But she soon discovers that keeping her morals when part of the popular posse is harder than she thinks.
Billie Bowman, Elise Zavou and Verity Thompson do a great job of giving a powerful performance of the iconic song “Candy Store”, which had a lot of audience members laughing and clapping.
The plot begins to turn as Veronica soon learns just how vicious the Heathers can be, when they enlist her to target her childhood friend - Martha Dunnstock.
As Heather’s conscience begins to take a reality check, in walks the mysterious new boy by the name of Jason Dean, otherwise known as JD, and her thoughts of popularity start to waver.
Jacob Fowler gives a great performance of JD, first making him seem like the cool, thoughtful and introverted new boy on the block.
However, as the show progresses, his persona changes and we soon see the darker, more villainous side underneath.
The plot thickens as JD’s actions lead to the murder of Heather Chandler, who is found with a forged suicide note proclaiming her inner feelings.
However, events spiral out of control and Heather isn’t the only life claimed by the lovesick, Veronica-obsessed JD.
Despite the show's dark theme, the musical still uses frequent comedy to lighten the mood, so the performance doesn’t feel too heavy.
I had to admit, knowing little about the play I was left feeling rather bereft that the satirical, hilarious Heather Chandler had been killed off so early in the plot.
However, she often appears throughout the play like a modern day, humorous Shakespearian ghost, or a Greek chorus flanked by two jocks Kurt Kelly and Ram Sweeney, who add to the humour with their foolish antics.
Despite the play's comedic feel the tension continues to rise, as JD is set to completely obliterate the high school with his knowledge of explosives, passed down by his equally explosive and hard-hearted father.
However, Veronica, who up until this point has been somewhat of an anti-villain, redeems herself in a final showdown with JD.
The performance ends with a final reprisal of "Seventeen" sung by the entire cast, as the students finally get their happy ending.
The show brings a great mix of songs, comedy and tension, and touches upon some important themes surrounding mental health, peer pressure and the way society deals with suicide.
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There are some truly hilarious scenes with very adult focused humour, despite being a play about 17-year-olds, that had all of the audience in stitches.
I was torn between laughing, wanting to dance to all the songs and sitting hunched in suspense as JD got up to more dark acts.
All in all, it was an entertaining performance full of catchy songs, side-splitting humour and wit, and it was one that I’m glad I got to see for myself.
The tour is currently playing at Dartford's Orchard Theatre until May 27.
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