A Night with the Villains

A Night with the Villains is a hilarious, sexy, spooky cabaret show packed full of great singing, lively dancing, and comedic acting. The mood is set from the start with a sign above the entrance in bloody lettering warning you to ‘Enter if you Dare’. The staircases inside the theatre are lined with black candles and cobwebs, and tombstones flank the stage. The show features some of the best of the worst characters from history and fiction, singing beloved musical numbers with a twist. In many cases the lyrics are cleverly re-written or tweaked to suit the character. There’s some funny banter between numbers and the whole show is helmed by the charismatic ghost with the most, Beetlejuice (Peter Wood).

A Night with the Villains is interactive in a non-threatening manner with the audience given the choice to opt in or out of being directly engaged by the performers. You are also encouraged to vote for your favourite villain during the show via a handy QR code, adding an additional layer of engagement. At the end of the show, the winning rogue celebrates their victory by leading the singing and dancing in the big finale.

The production is jam packed with outstanding performances by a large ensemble. In my experience, villains are always so much more fun to play than the good guys, so it’s unsurprising to see the cast lapping up the opportunity to delve into the realms of the devilish. Their enjoyment is infectious.

Wood as your host Beetlejuice is charming, funny, and highly skilled at improvisation, crowd work, singing and dancing. Beau Wykes is mind-blowing as King George III, with a gorgeous singing voice, excellent comedic timing and regal status. Wykes has hilarious facial expressions and is a joy to watch. The Sanderson Sisters (played by Samantha Sherrin, Kennedy Foley, and Kelsey Todd) work wonderfully together. They are animated, funny and fearless, great at the choreo’, and their harmonies when singing are divine. Not to detract from the other sisters, Sherrin as Sarah Sanderson is a stand-out artist. Her comedic work - particularly her physical comedy - is brilliant, and her singing voice is exquisite.

Gabby Ayoub as Wednesday Addams is focussed, perfectly deadpan, physically disciplined and a precise dancer, she has good comedic chops and shines brightest when singing. Amelie Clarke as Regina George is another fantastic singer in the cast, with lovely comic timing, vibrant acting, and dance skills too. Jaya Fisher-Smith’s Captain Hook is hilarious, vivacious, brave, and injects a lot of sex appeal into their role, particularly when dancing. The captivating Madeleine Ford as Mrs Wormwood is wonderfully bubbly, adept at comedy, and a divine dancer. Antoinette James as Cruella De Vil and Sam Caruana as Clyde Barrow are stand-out singers in the cast, while Lauren Bensted in the role of Bonnie Parker is a graceful dancer and shines most through her authentic acting.

Costuming by Jackie Frederickson is out of this world. The attention to detail is superb, wigs and make up by Rosie Humphreys are perfection. I am obsessed with the clever nostril contouring and cartoonish eye make up on Cruella De-Ville, the Mad Hatter’s spools of thread sash, the Sanderson Sisters’ wigs, robes, and dresses, Wednesday Addams’ gothy flawlessness, Mrs Wormwood’s bubbly flamboyance, and Captain Hook and George III’s gender bending finery. Special mention for Captain Hook’s fabulous boots in the second half of the show.

The cast under Musical Directors Georgia and Matt Leigh deliver some top-notch work. Aside from an initial technical hitch quickly fixed by sound operator Kym Brown, the music is a delight, singing on point and sound effects enhance the mood. Lighting by Jono Harrison is suitably spooky and delivers a few frights throughout the night. Choreography by Jennifer B Ashley is entertaining and lively. Her work adds a great deal of entertainment value to the show and is especially entertaining in Be Prepared, Cruella De Ville, Hell Block Tango, Master of the House, You’re a Mean One Mister Grinch, The Sanderson Sisters Parody, Diamonds (Remix), and Easy Street.

Creatively speaking this production really aims for the stars. I can’t commend Producer/Director duo Elodie Boal and Trent Sellars enough. They’ve assembled and nurtured an exceptional team who are clearly passionate about presenting work of the highest standard. You can count me among the great admirers of Boal’s work; as a writer, director, and producer she really has gone from strength to strength over the last decade.

Now in its second spook-tacular year, A Night with the Villains is accessible and enjoyable for a wide range of audiences. If you delight in dark comedy, great singing, and fantastic dancing you would be thrilled by this show. Here’s hoping Sellars and Boal resurrect some more villains next Halloween. I’ll be keeping an evil eye out for it.

Kitty Goodall

Photography by B’rit Creative