Anything Goes at Bristol Hippodrome [REVIEW]

Kicking off a new UK tour, the legendary sea-themed Anything Goes has docked in Bristol this week. First performed on Broadway in 1934, the Cole Porter musical is a classic, in-your-face musical spectacular and the escapism we all need right now!

The action is set on board ocean liner SS American during a trip from New York to London. Despite its luxury facilities, the captain and his staff are disappointed to have not attracted any A-list celebrities as passengers. However, that doesn’t mean the voyage is a quiet one as all sorts of craziness ensues thanks to the eclectic of mix of characters that join the trip.

There’s Wall Street broker and ship stowaway Billy Crocker (Samuel Edwards), who’s in love with American debutante Hope Harcourt (Nicole Lily-Baisden). She’s travelling to London with her mother Evangeline Harcourt (Bonnie Langford) and her English upper class fiance Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Hadyn Oakley).

To complicate matters, there’s also nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Kerry Ellis), who’s in love with Billy and Billy’s boss Elisha Whitney (Simon Callow), who thinks his employee is back at home managing his finances.

Joining the tomfoolery is Moonface Martin (Denis Lawson), a gangster who as ‘public enemy number 13’ hasn’t quite hit the top of the criminal charts.

What follows is an hilarious few hours of fun and farce as identities get mistaken, hearts are broken and romances blossom.

If you’re into all-singing, all-dancing musicals, this is definitely one for you. It takes the audience back to a bygone age of theatre with classic songs you just can’t help humming along to. Among many legendary tunes, there’s the title number Anything Goes, as well as I Get A Kick Out Of You and You’re The Top.

Star-studded cast in Anything Goes

Multi-awarding winning West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis is outstanding as Reno. Her voice led to plenty of rapturous applause from the audience on press night. A spectacular tap dancing performance of Anything Goes is particularly memorable.

There are plenty of hilarous laugh-out-loud moments featuring Samuel Edwards as Billy, Hadyn Oakley as Lord Oakleigh and Denis Lawson (who you’ll recognise from TV shows like New Tricks) as Moonface Martin.

Also very entertaining is the Carly Mercedes Dyer as the flirty Erma who has some cheeky adventures with the ship’s sailors, and the presence of theatre legends Bonnie Langford and Simon Callow give the show even more of a star quality.

Anything Goes is a brilliant show and we encourage you to get your ticket before it sets sail out of Bristol!

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Anything Goes is at Bristol Hippodrome until 16 April followed by performances in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Dublin, Manchester and London until September.