More so than any other show in the West End, your experience at Guys and Dolls will depend on your ticket – and in a twist, the best “seat” in the house is to go without one. If you’re unable or unwilling to stand for three hours, this show will function as a more traditional in-the-round affair, albeit with some unique staging. If you’re looking for something special, however, “immersive standing tickets” are available and suggested, and this review is aligned with that experience.
“Immersive” is an honest description – it would be hard to be more involved in a production without auditioning. Pre-show, standing patrons are dumped onto a NYC streetscape complete with working hot dog and pretzel stands (conveniently denominated in Pounds Sterling). If you’ve got nimble feet at the interval, you can snag a table and drink and get elevated on “stage” for the second act’s opening scene at the Hot Box cabaret. The show’s encore is a dance party with everyone on the floor taking part – cast, crew, and you.
This is a show that thrives on the energy of its audience, and returns that energy with a cup that runneth over. The best song of the night, “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” finds almost all of the major cast at a midnight revival meeting being led in rapturous testimony by not-so-reformed gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Jonathan Andrew Hume). It’s a raucous, joyous affair, involving dancing on chairs, circling the stage, and full-throated harmony in a crowd-pleasing, bursting-heart number. Other highlights, “If I Were a Bell”, “Take Back Your Mink”, and “”Marry the Man Today” share a common thread of confident, vibrant performances.
The whole cast is excellent, with leads Sarah (Celinde Schoenmaker), Adelaide (Timmika Ramsay), and Nathan Detroit (Owain Arthur) deserving special mention (George Ioannides, the usual Sky, was out at our performance). The pairing of Ramsay and Arthur earn copious laughs, with the glances and gags of the long-suffering couple played cheekily to audience members standing just a few feet away. Meanwhile, Schoenmaker plays Sarah earnestly and elegantly as she journeys from New York mission work to Havana and back again. Hers is the closest we get to a story with depth, as she reconsiders her convictions and finds her footing amid the “helpless haze” of new love.
For the most part, though, Guys and Dolls isn’t taking itself too seriously, with even the story’s antagonists (Big Jule, Lt. Brannigan) being more charmingly gruff than sinister. That’s as it should be – this is middling drama but a truly wonderful show, made even sweeter through the connection it forcefully establishes with its audience. Leaving an evening at the Bridge Theatre without a smile on your face is a scenario with tall odds – particularly if you’re a pedestrian.
Rating: 4 / 5
The Best Deal(s): £25 Standing Rush tickets on the TodayTix App, £19.5 Standing tickets for 16-25s through the Young Bridge program
Twopenny Theatre 
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