Based on the 1953 Doris Day film (itself based on the real life adventures of sharpshooter and frontierswoman Martha Jane Canary) this rip-roarin’, gun-totin’, whip-crackin’ comedy musical – produced by the Watermill Theatre and helmed by director Nikolai Foster – rides into town for one week and one week only!
At the centre of it all is fearless gun-slinger and local (eponymous) hero, Calamity Jane. With a heart of gold but occasionally somewhat careless with the truth, Calamity must keep her sentiments hidden and her six-shooter holstered as a case (or two!) of mistaken identity brings a newcomer to town…
The doors open on a rickety saloon filled with loveable characters and we recognise instantly the tropes and charm of the spaghetti western. This is a frontier packed with colour and vibrancy, where the liquor is hard but the goin’ is easy. This corral is plenty more than “O.K.” and swells with an affable charm from the off, the audience aren’t here for Unforgiven but rather unforgettable hits and Calamity Jane is packed to the rafters with those. The songs are short, sharp and catchy numbers, deftly performed by a multi-disciplined cast. Hoedowns and barn dances are underscored onstage by an ensemble of actor-musicians bolstered by an arsenal of violins, trumpets, fiddles, cellos and more – the music (and musicianship) baked into the spectacle.
The production is replete with some fantastic set-pieces also (the journeying to and from Chicago is a particular highlight) and the cast make excellent use of the saloon furnishings to add a spit-and-sawdust charm to the action. The show rattles along like a stationwagon with bandits on its tail but still allows its signature tunes the room to breathe and soar amidst the high noon hijinks and cowboy capery. Known hits such as The Deadwood Stage and Just Blew in from the Windy City are richly brought to life by an indomitable cast headed up by two imperious leads.
Martha Jane Canary was famed for her storytelling and so too is Carrie Hope Fletcher. Singer, author and actor, as Calamity, she is sensational (as audiences and producers alike knew she would be.) She is a wholly generous performer, filling the spotlight when required and sharing it when asked to. She is a faultless lead, imbuing the far-from-perfect Calamity with a complexity often lacking in revivals of musicals of this era (especially within its female characters.) Far from any shallow stunt, this is “star-casting” as it should be, meritocratic pulling-power via a bonafide star. Opposite her is Vinny Coyle as Wild Bill Hickok, gruff and charismatic, he dazzles in his understatement and makes for a fantastic counterpart to Fletcher’s Calamity. This town is certainly big enough (and better off) for the both of them, as they head up a cast full of showstoppers all working (and singing) in perfect harmony.
A dizzying spectacle and a blast of feel-good fun, this production tips its hat to a West that is wild in more ways than one. It is a fantastic revival, bold in its reimagining yet stoic in its homage, it is packed with a spirit and spectacle that are nothing short of calamitous.
Theatre Royal Brighton, Tuesday 2nd April 2025
For tickets and further information click here
Photo by Mark Senior
