West Side Story at the Royal Exchange is a thrilling spectacle. The restaging of this classic at the much-loved theatre in the round makes for an immersive and high energy experience for audiences.
New choreography by Aletta Collins is the true making of this show- the party scene is a particular highlight, which sees so many cast members on stage, boogie-ing away and squaring up in all directions. They weave around in an explosive and engaging scene seen at such close proximity. It’s almost as if you are part of the dance yourselves. The fight scenes between the Sharks and the Jets are similarly well done, although I’ve yet to see anyone pull off a retracting knife blood bag stunt with true flair, still.
Gabriela Garcia’s Maria has a stunningly sweet voice, which is perhaps a little overly classical for a contemporary musical, but serves to epitomise Maria’s youthful naivety. Meanwhile, Andy Coxon is endlessly charming as Tony- it is great to see so much fresh young talent at this venue, which ordinarily facilitates a smaller cast. I can’t fail to mention Jocasta Almgill as the standout supporting actor, playing Anita, she is full of sass and exudes spirit enough to carry the whole group.
The set design, by Anna Fleischle, is stripped back and superb at allowing a variety of movement options- with actors at times entering from the gallery, and climbing up, creating real depth to the staging. It must be a true challenge to create and utilise a set like this that works from all angles, but one that Fleischle has neatly overcome to great effect.
An all-round knock-out evening, from top-notch dance to song and staging- this production has it all. West Side Story runs at The Royal Exchange until 25th May- with limited tickets being released daily for this already sold out run.
Emma Reviews 