Review: The Bodyguard UK Tour 2023 - Glasgow

The Bodyguard ★★★★★

Review: King's Theatre, Glasgow | 1 February 2023

I never do this, but I gave this show 5 stars within 5 seconds of it starting.

It was instantly obvious that the production values were incredible. The dancers were divine before they even danced a step. Just from the way the first scene opens into the middle of a spectacular Rachel Marron concert, complete with lights, flames, beautiful costumes and dancers, and the most amazing vocals - it was instantly oozing quality. Bang, 5 stars!

I thought, well, let's see what the show does to drop a star or two then...

Nothing, that's what. For the next two and a half hours the performances, the staging, the choreography and the vocals were on point. The story is clear and moves at pace. The soundtrack is wonderful. And did I mention the dancers? The dancers! I thought I'd accidentally gone to Magic Mike at the start. Wow.

The Bodyguard 2023 UK tour cast

Melody Thornton takes on the difficult Whitney Houston role of superstar Rachel Marron. Perfect casting! Melody really is a superstar. True, I've never heard Whitney sing live, but I can't imagine she could be any better. Melody is an exceptional performer. Every number she sings is a stand-out, but her 'One Moment in Time' and 'I Always Love You' were otherworldly. I was so pleased to see her get her Elphaba / Defying Gravity moment too! (No spoilers - go see it and tell me you know what I mean!)

What this production does well is build tension. There is a scene later in Act I where we are at a Rachel Marron concert, but the crowd are getting too close. The moving stage and choreography of this scene are wonderful. We don't know where the threat is going to come from and I was honestly on edge! It's very cleverly done.

On that note; Marios Nicolaides who plays The Stalker, doesn't say much, but he has a presence on stage that is genuinely unsettling. I know Marios from other shows and I was a tad concerned he would be under used here - he is a great dancer and singer after all. But no, he was also perfectly cast. Menacing but magnificent!

The Bodyguard has everything I want in a musical and this is a first class production of it. ★★★★★

[Review first posted on Instagram 2nd February 2023]

The Bodyguard the musical UK Tour 2023. Melody Thornton, Ayden Callaghan.