Guys and Dolls Review

Petra Shepherd reviews the classic musical Guys and Dolls which runs at the Bridge Theatre until 4 January 2025.

Set in 1950s Broadway, Guys and Dolls is an old classic following the story of big city gamblers and the people who love them. The game changing immersive revival directed by Nicholas Hytner has been playing to rave reviews at The Bridge Theatre since 2023.

Although practically everyone I know has been to seen it (some multiple times) somehow it had passed me by and as a massive musical theatre fan, I was therefore excited to recently catch the show with a new cast. Gina Beck (Matilda; The Sound of Music; Show Boat; Wicked; Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables) as Sarah Brown, and Michael Simkins (John Gabriel Borkman; Backstairs Billy; The Unfriend; Fracked! Yes, Prime Minister; MAMMA MIA!) as Arvide Abernathy.

The actors join the current cast which includes Owain Arthur as Nathan Detroit, George Ioannides as Sky Masterson, Timmika Ramsay as Miss Adelaide, Jonathan Andrew Hume as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Cornelius Clarke as Lieutenant Brannigan, Cameron Johnson as Big Jule, TJ Lloyd as Rusty Charlie, Ryan Pidgen as Benny Southstreet, Tori Scott as General Cartwright and Dashaun Vegas as Harry the Horse.

For those not familiar with the musical, Guys and Dolls tells overlapping stories of high-roller Sky Masterson, who falls in love with mission worker Sarah Brown, and lovable rogue Nathan Detroit, engaged for 14 years to Miss Adelaide, a headliner at the Hot Box Club. Nathan runs a famous floating crap game, and an ongoing plot line involves his quest for a safe place for the game as Adelaide continues her quest to convince him to marry her. Meanwhile, Sarah, mistakenly believing that Sky set up an illegal game at the mission, tries to fight her affection for the charismatic crapshooter.

I’ve seen Guys and Dolls numerous times from The Chichester Festival Theatre production to am dram ones but what’s different and very special about this production, is the immersive nature with the seating wrapped around the action, while the immersive tickets transport audiences to the streets of Manhattan and the bars of Havana. Basically, with immersive tickets, you stand right in the centre of the action and move around the stage area. I opted for a seated ticket (this new format, loved by many is still a little too alternative for me) and with seated tickets, you’re still never more than a few rows away from the action. When asked to reflect on their experience of performing at The Bridge, both Gina Beck and Michael Simkins agreed that this version of Guys & Dolls brings an electric energy and immediacy that sets it aprt from traditional stagings.

This unlikeliest of love stories is packed with hit songs, including the showstopping ‘Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat,’ ‘Luck Be a Lady’ and ‘Take Back Your Mink.’ Since opening, Guys & Dolls has won several awards; in November 2023, it won Best Musical at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, in February 2024 it won three awards at the WhatsOnStage Awards including Best Musical Revival, in March 2024 it won the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards for Best Musical (The Peter Hepple Award) and in April 2024 Arlene Phillips with James Cousins won the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.

The awards are all justified, the choreography on the moving platforms, the chemistry between the leads and superb singing were all top notch. Sitting down or standing up, Guys and Dolls continues to thrill with more hit songs, more laughs and more romance than any show ever written. Booking at the Bridge Theatre until 4 January 2025, above all it’s great fun, you won’t be disappointed.

Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls plays at The Bridge Theatre until 4 January 2025. For more information and tickets, click here.