★★★★ The Bodyguard The Musical: I Have Nothing (But Love for This Show)

Photography by Paul Costas

Based on the classic 1992 movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, The Bodyguard The Musical is a fictional story of terrifying thrills and romantic chills. When singing superstar, Rachel Marron receives threatening letters from a calculating stalker, her team hires Frank Farmer, a bodyguard, to look after her in the run-up to The Oscars. Tension rises as Marron feels trapped, stuck at home unable to live life normally but ultimately finds comfort in the arms of her bodyguard. 

Rachel, Houston’s character in the original movie, is played by Sidonie Smith who first appeared in the show in 2015. Smith has an amazing way of channelling Houston while also making the songs her own, adding new runs and improvisations. If I could have one ounce of her talent (and maybe the sparkly black dress she wears during the finale), I would be a very happy woman. 

Sidonie Smith is such a powerful performer that you need to be really (and I mean REALLY) good to perform alongside her. Sasha Monique played Rachel’s sister, Nicki, and kept up with Smith effortlessly. Her character was somewhat annoying: I do not love characters who simply exist to keep the story moving and Nicki’s role is to drag along a love-triangle narrative as both sisters begin to fall for Farmer. But what a voice - I wanted to shout at Nicki to get over him and sing 'Saving All My Love' again! Her silky voice was so moving and the sisters’ duet of 'Run To You' was gorgeous while heartbreaking. There was not a dry eye in the audience.

It is disappointing when a star with endless credits on the stage and screen such as Adam Garcia is forced to play one of the most boring characters ever written. For the titular role, bodyguard Frank Farmer has very little personality and only ever comes on stage to say something ominous or cliché. I have seen Garcia perform in several shows previously and it felt a waste to have such talent singing a satirically bad rendition of 'I Will Always Love You'. I assumed he would pick up a microphone at curtain call as a nod to the audience that “hey, I can sing really!” But this did not happen. 

While I was not a fan of the way some of the characters were written, the cast were amazing regardless. A huge shout out to James-Lee Harris, who is both the dance captain and The Stalker. While the show is filled with fun Whitney Houston numbers, The Stalker was genuinely chilling and provided a couple of terrifying jumpscares.

The supporting cast were a believable entourage for Rachel, giving the impression of a team big enough for Beyonce, frantically working to cater to Rachel’s every need and striding across the stage with purpose, while only a few members were onstage at a time. The back-up dancers performed high-energy routines that were excellently choreographed, notably the closing number which had the entire audience up on their feet, singing and dancing along to 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'. 

If my criticisms of the show’s characters has made my review seem entirely negative, please realise I was probably just grumpy about not getting to hear Garcia sing as this show, overall, was fabulous. I left the theatre wanting to sign up for a dance class and kept singing Whitney songs over and over until my mum had to tell me to stop. The Bodyguard is energetic, cheesy and genuinely eerie at times, making it the perfect night out. 

If you wanna dance with somebody this week, The Bodyguard is running at Sheffield Theatres until Saturday 14th February before heading out on its tour of the UK. Get your tickets here!