⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ – “An incredible evening of pure nostalgia.”

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated Warner Bros. movie starring Whitney Houstonand Kevin Costner, The Bodyguard tells the story of the complicated relationship between former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer and superstar Rachel Marron, when Farmer is hired to protect her from an unknown stalker. 

‘Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love.’

The Bodyguard was the soundtrack to my early teen years, and to this day every lyric is still committed to memory. The musical stays fairly true to the film itself, cleverly incorporating more of Whitney’s biggest hits, and to be able to come close to a voice as powerful as Whitney Houston takes an immense level of talent. Admittedly I approached the production with a level of apprehension following a less-than-stellar performance when I watched the show in 2020 with a different cast. 

I need not have worried. From the opening song ‘Queen of the Night,’ it was clear that we were in for an incredible evening with Emily Williams in the lead role of Rachel Marron. A vocal powerhouse, Williams was sensational from the very first note, and surrounded by dancers and pyrotechnics, it was a fantastic opening to what was a spellbinding show. 

Emily-Mae in the role of Rachel’s secretly bitter sister, Nicki Marron was equally as stunning vocally. Her performance of ‘Saving All My Love’ was beautiful and emotional, and her voice complimented Williams during numerous duets. 

Ayden Callaghan as the serious but charismatic Frank Farmer was able to create a certain level of chemistry with the two female leads, and while there is little for him in terms of character development, there were moments of fun and one-liners that he was able to deliver to add a lighter element to the show. 

Deviating from the original plot, there are a couple of jump-out-of-your-seat moments involving Rachel’s Stalker (Marios Nicolaides), who played the part beautifully. I knew what was coming, and was still shocked. 

The sets, combined with clever lighting and projections were artistically used to guide each area of the stage that the audience were to focus on, and some elements were reminiscent of the power ballad music videos of the same era as the original movie. There were moments of ‘cheesy’ at times, and this just made it even more fabulous. 

The Bodyguard is an evening of pure nostalgia – and for anyone who loves the movie, Whitney, power ballads and pop music, this is the musical for them.

The Bodyguard, The Musical is on stage at the Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 30th December 2023. Get your tickets here.