New, original musicals are always welcome in the world of theatre: when the stage is always set for endless remakes and reimaginings of the same source material, sometimes a fresh take is needed to capture the audience's attention. A perfect example of this is the brand-new show "Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World", which I had the chance to see for myself in early April.

 

Written by celebrated dramatist Chris Bush, the show is an adaptation of suffragette descendent Kate Pankhurst’s award-winning children's book by the same title. The plot follows Jade, an 11-year-old student longing to feel noticed by others, as she slips into the out-of-bounds exhibit "The Gallery of Greatness", where she is guided by some of the most influential female figures across history. Produced by Chris Wax, who some may know as the man behind the smash hit musical SIX, and with Number 1 songwriter Miranda Cooper behind the score the show was off to a promising start, before the first live performance had even began.

 

Just like SIX, Fantasically Great was fully performed by an all-female cast, including those behind the live music. Kudzai Mangombe was a perfect fit for Jade's character, keeping up the energetic atmosphere throughout and landing many laughs with the audience. The rest of the cast consisted of Renée Lamb, Christina Modestou, Jade Kennedy and Kirstie Skivington, who all constantly switched roles and costumes to portray a total of 13 different characters. From Emmeline Pankhurst and Rosa Parks to Mary Seacole and Sacagawea, it felt like women from all walks of life were included, no matter their profession or background. Despite the fact that each character only had a relatively short time on stage, each was able to leave a positive impression and had at least a few memorable moments during the performance. The standout cast member by far was Modestou: with plenty previous stage experience, including performing in SIX, the amount of personality she put into every scene really made her stand out no matter the character she was playing at the time, and each of her performances felt very unique.

 

As mentioned before, songwriters Miranda Cooper and Jennifer Decilveo were behind the music for the show, who have previously written for Girls Aloud, Kylie Minogue and Miley Cyrus respectively. The style was always very upbeat and pop-like, which worked well with the overall energetic tone of the musical, although at some points it felt that the mixing and diction of the music suffered as a result. The highlight of the score was Jade Kennedy's percussion-centered 'A World of Colour', with catchy lyrics and a solid backing track by percussionist Nicola T Chang. While the majority of songs in the show felt strong and upbeat, there felt a slight dip in quality with the penultimate number 'Lullaby Little Girl'. The delivery from Renée Lamb is beautiful and certainly moving, but among the rest of the score it feels somewhat out of place and creates a sharp contrast to the high energy during the rest of the show.

 

An area of live theatre that is often tragically overlooked is costume design: despite the important role it plays in telling the audience everything they need to know about a character from the offset, many people don't tend to consider it when watching a performance. In "Fantastically Great" this element was managed by Joanna Scotcher and simply cannot be ignored. Every costume was unique and detailed to fit the character, from perfect recreations of 18th century fashion for Jane Austen to the neon dinosaur horns on Mary Anning's spy outfit (yes, there is a spy themed number involving a palaeontologist - this show is wild!). The eye-catching and bright colours on Frida Kahlo’s dress was the most memorable piece in my opinion, with large folds in the sides of the outfit that were unveiled during the final chorus of her song to create an almost angelic appearance. Scotcher was also in charge of set design, which, although minimalistic, was mainly used to create different platforms, props and entrances for the characters to interact with in a unique way.

 

Although the show was most likely intended for younger audiences - after all, it is adapted from a picture book - it is still enjoyable for all ages. The humour lands well, the characters are relatable and the songs are well-made, creating a memorable 80 minutes of live theatre. The show is jam-packed with a fun and energetic tone throughout, with an inspirational message to boot, and I highly recommend it to anyone considering attending its current UK tour. It is, as the title says, 'Fantastically Great'.