Dear Diary,
I love Heathers. It’s been years since I first watched Heathers (1988), loved it, then heard the soundtrack of Heathers: The Musical, and fell even more in love. Tonight, I finally got to see it on stage at the Lyceum in Sheffield. Strap in for this reflection…
If you don’t know what Heathers is about, both the film and musical follow our protagonist, Veronica Sawyer, trying to survive the cruel high school society of Westerburg High, where the clique of populars, all named Heather, rule. By sticking with them, she has a chance of making it through. But then when she meets new kid, JD, her life takes a turn into darkness, rage and murder. There’s no longer such a thing as a normal 17 year old.
Generally, it’s a comical piece of media with plenty of sarcasm, raunchy humour, and silly silly characters. But that humour turns dark just as easily, evoking anxiety, empathy, and heartache.
The cast did a brilliant job in portraying these elements of comedy and darkness, and it wouldn’t be what it was without Iván Fernández González as Kurt and Jason Battersby as Ram. They were the stars of comic relief and established themselves as the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of the production with their idiotic ‘jock’ characters and perfectly synchronised movements. Their roles only got more and more absurd as the show continued and it was a pleasure to see them have so much fun with their characters.
Kurt and Ram offered a direct antithesis to the protagonists, Veronica and JD, who were more intellectual and serious to the former’s lack of that. May Tether, who has been the understudy, played Veronica at this show and she did a brilliant job in delivering the character. She was witty, sarcastic, funny, freaky, everything that was Veronica Sawyer. Her vocals were incredible and combined with Keenan McAuley’s vocals as JD, the harmony was mesmerising. Their chemistry on the stage was captivating and substantial, so they really embodied their characters and filled the entire theatre with that intensity.
Working to emphasise the intensity of the story was Ben Cracknell’s lighting. The spotlighting during solo numbers, particularly the emotional songs, was ambient and amplified the emotions of the characters, while the flashy lighting worked to energise. They also worked well in characterisations, like using the matching colours when introducing the Heathers, setting that boundary of each colour belonging to a single Heather.
Of course, we can’t have a review of Heathers without talking about the Heathers! Esme Bowdler killed it as Heather Chandler. Her mannerisms, vocal range and enunciations made her known as the ‘it girl.’ Her stage presence was magnificent, almost like Heather Chandler herself in her confidence and ability to captivate the crowd. And Heather C isn’t Heather without Heather D and Heather M. Sedona Sky and Daisy Twells gave incredibly performances as Heather Duke and Heather McNamara, each perfectly portraying the meek to vengeful and ditsy to soulful. The minute details in their mannerisms, expressions and vocals lent to fleshing out their characters in their entirety and making the audience feel everything with them.
Each and every member of the cast were brilliant in their roles, with Amy Miles as the sweetest Martha, with an emotional and heart wrenching performance. And Connor McFarlane and Alexander Service were crucial as the tough but softened dads who love their dead gay sons, breaking down those barriers of toxic masculinity. All the members of the ensemble brought the show to life with their singing, dancing and backing.
From beginning to end, Gary Lloyd’s choreography was enjoyable, ranging from an ensemble dance number to zeroing in on Veronica when things become overwhelmingly intense. It was quite difficult to sit in my seat and not just get up and dance, honestly. Especially, with the hilarious elements of audience participation, which was certainly enhanced by the atmosphere of the audience overall. It felt wholesome and united sitting at the Lyceum with all these people who clearly loved Heathers as much as I did. That’s not even mentioning all the fun outfits! I channelled Veronica in my outfit and it was so lovely seeing others dress as her or the Heathers. With all the cheering and palpable excitement, it really felt like a community show.
Overall, dear diary, I had an absolute blast (you know it). Seeing the show after being a huge fan for so long felt like fireworks and it completely met my high expectations. I went in expecting a good time, and came out having had the best time. It was an electric production that made me laugh and almost cry. The songs will never leave my head now, and I don’t want them to.
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