Believe the hype! Guys & Dolls at flashy new London venue Bridge Theatre is dazzling, joyous, inventive musical theatre as its very best. 

Reinventing the all-time classic musical from the ground up, veteran director Nicholas Hytner adds so many clever touches that it is almost impossible to absorb them all on one viewing. Collaborating closely with set designer Bunny Christie and lighting designer Paule Constable, Hytner has crafted a truly unique immersive spectacle in which the action takes place in a central arena with audience at ground level and also seated in the round.

Multiple platforms rise and drop as the action moves about the space, with a crack stage management crew constantly directing traffic amongst the standing audience members. With so much real estate on offer, Hytner has the space and ingenuity to add multiple characterful locations, including barbershop, boxing gym, Mindy’s restaurant, and many more. Colourful neon signs fly in and out to help to establish locations. 

Hytner’s vibrant direction includes multiple small changes, and yet the time-honoured book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows remains pleasingly intact. One particularly audacious change takes place in the Havana sequence where Sister Sarah Brown now fights off a scantily clad gay male paramour so she can dance with Sky. At this point, this audience is so fully along for the ride that this cheeky chapter is breezily accepted as all part of the fun.

Lush with brass and woodwind, the new orchestrations from Charlie Rosen and arrangements from musical supervisor Tom Brady sound superb. 

Christie’s costumes balance naturalism and theatricality, with the flashiest outfits seen in Havana and, of course, on the Hot Box stage, where the action is suitably saucy but not too seedy. 

Choreography from Arlene Phillips and James Cousins is wonderfully crisp and energetic. Dance pours forth in every direction in Havana, and all male sequence “The Crapshooters’ Dance” is impressively athletic. The showstopper to end all showstoppers, “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” receives not one but two encores, all the more incredible in that they each feature new variations on the choreography. 

Hytner and team have assembled a fabulous company of performers, all the while maintaining a clear focus on racial diversity and body positivity. 

George Ioannides has charisma to spare as worldly gambler Sky Masterson, enjoying ready chemistry with every scene partner. Celinde Schoenmaker brings a bit of a hard edge to Sarah, ensuring she is no easy pushover. 

Timmika Ramsay imbues brassy, ever loving showgirl Miss Adelaide with abundant heart, her momentary cracks of vulnerability bolstered by a backbone of sheer determination. A fabulous triple threat performer, Ramsay commands the stage of the Bridge and the Hot Box, thoroughly engaging the audience as the well known fiancée. 

Jonathan Andrew Hume exudes loveable charm as well-meaning sweetheart Nicely-Nicely Johnson.

Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre is once-in-a blue-moon theatrical magic that has to be seen to be believed.

• Arrive in good time to marvel at the spectacle of London Bridge itself before entering the capacious and atmospheric foyer of the Bridge Theatre.

• It’s a longish act one, but if you don’t need the bathroom at interval, stay in the house to enjoy smooth harmonies and lively tap beats. 

Guys & Dollswas reviewed 7.30pm Tuesday 23 July 2024 at Bridge Theatre, London where it plays until 4 January 2025. For tickets, click here.

Enjoy the trailer featuring the original cast of this production of Guys & Dolls:

Photos: Manuel Harlan