Many people have that one artist or performer they are hopelessly in love with, dreaming daily to run off into the sunset with them and live happily ever after. Well fear not dear daydreamer, you are not alone! And with the arrival of Heartbreak Nation, prepare for a new heartthrob (but you better act quickly before someone else beats you to it!).
Fangirls takes us to Australia, and the teen youth gripped by the latest boyband sensation Heartbreak Nation, and their lead singer Harry who is everyone’s crush. Edna and her friends are overjoyed when the band announce that they are adding a new leg to their tour, covering their hometown and Edna’s fanfic dreams of running away with Harry may be one step closer to coming true. But when she’s unable to get a ticket, she may have to rely on her storytelling skills to save the day, hatching a dark plan to get Harry right where she wants him.
Like many of the random productions I end up going to see, I had seen nothing of this show before walking in, besides the fact that Gracie McGonigal (whom I have raved about from playing Katie in The Little Big Things) was to be starring in it. I loved the vibes walking in and was prepared for something unusual…and unusual was definitely what I got. The story is a little bit bizarre I will say and I can’t say it really landed for me too well. Firstly, I think the pacing is slightly off. We spend the first act being introduced to all of these characters, the boy band, the fanfic storyline, then we learn about the extra tour stops and how Edna can’t get a ticket and then her hatched plan. This is a whistle-stop tour, with this followed in Act 2 by her sitting in her room with Harry for a bit as the world seems to break down, only for her friends and mum to find out in the last five minutes before the show abruptly ends. We have so much happening before the interval, not a whole lot after the interval and an ending that comes out of nowhere.
I appreciate what the story was going for, it’s definitely a unique story but sadly I don’t think it quite clicked with me as much as it may have hoped to. I spent a lot of the show focused on one character mainly (but more of that later!) and exploring this dynamic of stereotypical teens and a singing heartthrob was a good attempt at an engaging plot but didn’t get me over the line. There were a lot of elements that I really liked, but bringing them all together never really happened, which leaves me loving lots of individual parts of this show, but not the overall production. For example, the party atmosphere in the pre-show and cast members being among the audience at the tail end of the interval was a stroke of genius (and not only because Gracie McGonigal basically came to sit next to me).
I liked the overall vibes of the score and the soundtrack, it felt a lot like a pop concert with upbeat numbers you could easily dance to, but besides the final track, there weren’t any that particularly stood out to me. The songs were decent for the show they were for and fit its themes really well, but almost none of them were strong enough for me to actively listen to again. Those who know me will know that I’m very particular when it comes to musical songs that I download and having listened through the album again after the show, only the final song Maybe We’re More made it into my playlist. The songs aren’t bad by any means, but there’s nothing in here that I can see becoming a standalone hit.
Now over to our technical elements and we begin in this review with the strongest in my opinion, which was costume. I liked a lot of what the costume department were able to achieve, the range of costumes used for various cast members and also the speed of some of the transitions. Cast members would seemingly reappear seconds after leaving stage in an entirely new costume which can only be a testament to the skill and creativity of the ones who have created these pieces. From school uniform to concert outfits to loungewear to disguises, the costume team have made less mean so much more and have gone above and beyond with this production, which definitely elevates the cast and other elements to great effect.
The set was largely non-existent besides Edna’s bedroom because of another creative choice we will discuss in just a second, but strangely I think it worked quite well. I feel like shows can never win with me because some shows with sets I say need more and some shows, like this, which have basically none work really well, but that’s the way the cookie’s somehow crumbled. I love how the focus is shifted onto our characters and their interactions with each other, as well as other departments, which for such a personal story exploring these deep relationships between characters is a huge bonus. And as for the pieces of set that they do have, these are executed well and used appropriately. Oftentimes, set is used because it’s available and this musical showed that it can be worth having very little set. But, that may be because of a different dynamic playing out on stage.
This production made use of these three curved LED screens towards the back of the stage, that were used for lighting, videography, logos and so much more and I’m a little bit divided on these. There were times they were used flawlessly, giving a modern feel to certain moments such as the arrival of Heartbreak Nation, the ‘internet people’ and news bulletins, but other times when it threw me a little bit. Occasionally, we went to close up shots of the cast usually upset ‘on the news’ talking about the events going on in this universe, and whilst it was great to communicate these powerful emotions (and to showcase the amazing hair and make-up work!), these were a little too close at times, giving the stage what can only be described as a Big Brother feel, with this huge head effigy of one of our characters. I like what they were trying to achieve, and the balance used throughout of whether to show these screens or move them for other purposes was good, but moments like this did take me away from Fangirls and to 1984 on more than a few occasions.
Sound is probably the area I have the least to say about with this show. I liked some of the atmospheres they managed to generate and some of the techniques used were quite creative. All of the cast were collectively and individually audible over the backing tracks, effects were handled well and overall it was a good showing. But when we come to lighting, I have a few more things to say. All things considered, lighting was great, well timed, I loved the use of colour, particularly for the police lights, and if it wasn’t for one key design choice, I’d be raving about it.
But alas, we have to discuss the use of blinders. For those unaware, blinders involve using very bright fixtures pointed at the audience so that when they illuminate, you are ‘blinded’ in a flash and can’t see the stage. They’re used a lot in festivals and concerts, which explains the choice to use them here given the subject matter. I’m all for using a blinder one or twice for effect or to complete a scene transition, but when you have traditional blinders on the lighting bars, with three large LED screens forming a wall and more audience-facing fixtures set behind that, we start to get into problematic territory for me. Blinding effects were used way too much in this production, to the point where for one section I just shut my eyes and waited for it to end. I appreciate what they were going for, but the set-up leaves a lot of light intensity facing us and when all used together goes beyond blinding effect to be actually physically blinding.
It’s time we moved on from my currently mixed feelings about the show to talk about our cast. Now I’m about to hugely shift gears because there are two performers I really want to highlight, and one of which connected with me in a way that will make me leave my professionalism at the door because there are things that need to be said, and that performer comes in the form of Mary Malone as Jules. As I mentioned earlier, I knew nothing about this show going into it and within minutes of the show beginning, my heart had been captured by Malone, never to be released.
As a Trans+ girl, seeing Malone’s power, aura and dynamism sweep onto the stage, hold the entire theatre in her hands and give such an amazing performance was deeply moving and inspired me beyond words can truly describe. I was overjoyed at her every second on stage, every word she said and was emotional by the final song having watched in awe for the past few hours. She is trailblazing on stage, has such a beautiful voice and is unapologetically slaying her role to give not only an outstanding performance in this cast, but one of my favourite performances that I have ever seen on stage. I have no idea what Malone plans to do after Fangirls, but I will be there for it, make no mistake!
The other performance I wanted to highlight is Debbie Kurup playing Caroline, Edna’s concerned and overworked mother. You can’t help but feel for Caroline as she struggles to connect to her daughter and Kurup’s characterisation is phenomenal. Every mother would be able to connect to her words and her sentiments and given the key role Caroline plays in the story in the end, getting an amazing actress such as Kurup was essential and it has paid off in dividends. She provides a level of emotion that cuts through the various other elements of this show, and the thunderous applause she received is a testament to this.
One note I will give to the cast however, we have to talk about the accents. The show is set in Australia, and this always leaves the creative teams with a dilemma – do they do the accents or not? In this situation, it was not the right call. The show was at a significant disadvantage it must be said, as prior to seeing this show I had spent the previous week and a half with an actual Aussie so having got used to a proper Australian accent, it was very clear how far off these were! I’m sure this was just a me issue and I’m sure I’m nitpicking, but it was an unintendedly comedic part of the show that I just had to share!
Fangirls is one of the more unusual productions I have seen, and I love the effort and ambition that has gone into the show. Whilst it didn’t land for me, I was clearly outnumbered in the auditorium and am sure that with some edits and rethinks, this production would work a lot more for me. There is so much talent here and so many promising things going on that I would love to see this show return in the future once these had been addressed!
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Fangirls is playing at the Lyric Hammersmith until August 24th
