Review Quotes from the West End production:
"Grit and Glitter behind bars sure is a hell of a lot of fun" Charles Spencer,
The Daily Telegraph
"A show to cell-ebrate. Bad Girls offers as much fun as you can get without running the risk of being locked up"
The Sun
"Kath Gotts who has written both music and lyrics strikes me as the brightest new prospect for British musical theatre in years"
Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph
"With a score by first time West End composer/lyricist Kath Gotts and book by the creators of the TV show it is based on, it is an indigenous and occasionally ingenious melding of the gritty realism of its women’s prison setting with the irresistible bounce of a musical whose primary objective is to entertain"
Mark Shenton, Sunday Express
"It's brazen, cheeky, well developed, well acted and well sung. The Bad Girls have done good"
Metro
"These girls aren't just bad, they're wicked"
Mail on Sunday
"Maggie Norris's production bursts into full, rampant life"
The Observer
"Thanks to clever designs by Colin Richmond we are immediately transported to G-wing and the characters and hierarchies between them is quickly established. That’s greatly aided by Gotts’ appealing pop melodies, which provide instant short cuts to making emotional connections between them." The Stage
"Kath Gotts supplies unflaggingly vivacious music and lyrics, ranging from a song for moppers-out (A Life of Grime) to a gospel moment for a godly shoplifter. Colin Richmond’s design cleverly makes the anti-prison point, setting preposterous colourful action (including a riot of a riot) against black-and-white footage of a Victorian prison, the walkways stalked by female shadows." Susannah Clapp, The Observer
"Excellent character actress Helen Fraser is cunning, cowardly and corrupt as prison officer Sylvia “Bodybag” Hollamby. And Sally Dexter with her tumbling raven locks and sinister swagger, brings an eye-catching sexual allure to the tough Yvonne Atkins." Paul Callan, Daily Express
"A dreamboat of swashbuckling swagger in her red leather coast, tight trousers and knee-length boots, Sally Dexter’s splendid Yvonne, with her philosophy that “if we can’t get out to the party, the party can come to us!” would bring out the lesbian in any man." Paul Taylor, The Independent
"The show is put across with enormous zest. Sally Dexter as a mobster's wife has a Sophia Loren-like swagger, Laura Rogers as the do-gooding governor and Caroline Head as the cop-killer touchingly express their furtive passion, and Nicole Faraday, as Larkhall's head girl, puts across a country and western number with style." Michael Billington, The Guardian
" ‘A Life of Grime’ and ‘All Banged Up’ are terrific numbers, brilliantly executed by Julie Jupp, Rebecca Wheatley, and Sally Dexter, and Maggie Norris’ vibrant production roars on to a life-enhancing finale." Michael Coveney, Whatsonstage.com
"What with David Burt’s sinister, smiling officer, Jim Fenner, sexually taking advantage of his female charges, a suicide, a menacingly real riot and Yvonne’s battles to become hen rather than cock of the walk, this ladies’ wing of Larkhall prison makes a boisterous impression. The dialogue crackles and snaps convincingly with lush vulgarity, innuendo and violence." Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard
"For an entertaining night of salacious humour, strong songs and good old-fashioned melodrama, it's hard to beat and deserves to thrive." Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph
Review Quotes from the West End production:
"Grit and Glitter behind bars sure is a hell of a lot of fun" Charles Spencer,
The Daily Telegraph
"A show to cell-ebrate. Bad Girls offers as much fun as you can get without running the risk of being locked up"
The Sun
"Kath Gotts who has written both music and lyrics strikes me as the brightest new prospect for British musical theatre in years"
Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph
"With a score by first time West End composer/lyricist Kath Gotts and book by the creators of the TV show it is based on, it is an indigenous and occasionally ingenious melding of the gritty realism of its women’s prison setting with the irresistible bounce of a musical whose primary objective is to entertain"
Mark Shenton, Sunday Express
"It's brazen, cheeky, well developed, well acted and well sung. The Bad Girls have done good"
Metro
"These girls aren't just bad, they're wicked"
Mail on Sunday
"Maggie Norris's production bursts into full, rampant life"
The Observer
"Thanks to clever designs by Colin Richmond we are immediately transported to G-wing and the characters and hierarchies between them is quickly established. That’s greatly aided by Gotts’ appealing pop melodies, which provide instant short cuts to making emotional connections between them." The Stage
"Kath Gotts supplies unflaggingly vivacious music and lyrics, ranging from a song for moppers-out (A Life of Grime) to a gospel moment for a godly shoplifter. Colin Richmond’s design cleverly makes the anti-prison point, setting preposterous colourful action (including a riot of a riot) against black-and-white footage of a Victorian prison, the walkways stalked by female shadows." Susannah Clapp, The Observer
"Excellent character actress Helen Fraser is cunning, cowardly and corrupt as prison officer Sylvia “Bodybag” Hollamby. And Sally Dexter with her tumbling raven locks and sinister swagger, brings an eye-catching sexual allure to the tough Yvonne Atkins." Paul Callan, Daily Express
"A dreamboat of swashbuckling swagger in her red leather coast, tight trousers and knee-length boots, Sally Dexter’s splendid Yvonne, with her philosophy that “if we can’t get out to the party, the party can come to us!” would bring out the lesbian in any man." Paul Taylor, The Independent
"The show is put across with enormous zest. Sally Dexter as a mobster's wife has a Sophia Loren-like swagger, Laura Rogers as the do-gooding governor and Caroline Head as the cop-killer touchingly express their furtive passion, and Nicole Faraday, as Larkhall's head girl, puts across a country and western number with style." Michael Billington, The Guardian
" ‘A Life of Grime’ and ‘All Banged Up’ are terrific numbers, brilliantly executed by Julie Jupp, Rebecca Wheatley, and Sally Dexter, and Maggie Norris’ vibrant production roars on to a life-enhancing finale." Michael Coveney, Whatsonstage.com
"What with David Burt’s sinister, smiling officer, Jim Fenner, sexually taking advantage of his female charges, a suicide, a menacingly real riot and Yvonne’s battles to become hen rather than cock of the walk, this ladies’ wing of Larkhall prison makes a boisterous impression. The dialogue crackles and snaps convincingly with lush vulgarity, innuendo and violence." Nicholas de Jongh, Evening Standard
"For an entertaining night of salacious humour, strong songs and good old-fashioned melodrama, it's hard to beat and deserves to thrive." Charles Spencer, The Daily Telegraph