I suppose you know you’re watching something that has had a lot of care and attention given to it when the show in question does a better job of including ‘Waterloo’ into the main storyline than the blockbuster musical Mamma Mia! – which does, at least, tack it on to the end of the show as part of the encore. As for Muriel’s Wedding, there have been some updates to the 1994 motion picture – and I don’t just mean adapting it for theatre audiences. The title character (Megan Ellis) doesn’t find herself working in a video store, because those don’t exist anymore, and one is reminded of the sheer ubiquity of mobile telephony and social media, which Muriel uses to her advantage, in some ways better than her supposedly more popular classmates from school. Except they’re not at school anymore – some of them are even married. Muriel, a bit of a social outcast, just wants to be.
This is, in itself, a curious thing in an era where being who one wants to be is actively encouraged – to quote Mamma Mia!, there’s a school of thought that believes marriage is an institution for those “who belong in an institution”. So what’s with Muriel, a young lady with her whole life ahead of her? It’s worth noting this is called Muriel’s Wedding, not Muriel’s Marriage – what she wants is the big white church wedding (think Julie Rogers’ 1964 song ‘The Wedding’), and she wants it so badly she is prepared to make up miscellaneous sob stories in order to try wedding dresses on at various bridal shops in Sydney.
Betty (Laura Medforth) sparks a love of the music of ABBA in her daughter Muriel, and the musical goes for it, with at least seven songs from the Swedish pop group. It’s as if the production team are hedging their bets: if anything, a considerable number of patrons are going to enjoy songs from the repertoire of one of the bestselling music acts in living memory. The narrative suggests very little has changed in terms of putdowns, though perhaps it is a testament to how the world has progressed that fat-shaming is met by stony silence by the Curve audience. It was so below the belt it wasn’t even worth booing. Muriel’s father Bill (Darren Day) isn’t quite as withering as the late Bill Hunter was in the movie. Nonetheless, it seems politicians are crooked and conniving the world over, and not just in Blighty, and there was, for all the laughter in some genuinely amusing scenes, much poignancy in seeing Muriel and her siblings express regret at not fully appreciating Betty’s continuous effort to be the best mother possible when they were younger.
It’s an impressive production in many ways – the video technology doesn’t make scenes look garish or too artificial. It was, I think, some way into the second half that I even noticed there was a stage revolve, which I’m taking to be a good thing as I was more than sufficiently absorbed in the storyline. Some of the comedy is a little overcooked – Muriel’s love interest, Brice Nobes (Ethan Pascal Peters) and a Russian swimmer called Alexander Shkuratov (Stephen Madsen, who had wonderful comic timing) both have their surnames ridiculed too repetitively. There might, to be fair, be a deeper meaning somewhere about personal identity, as there is when Muriel has her reasons for suddenly wanting to be known as ‘Mariel’.
At two hours and forty-five minutes, it does drag on a bit – bear in mind the film is 101 minutes long. I don’t comment often enough on costumes in shows, but I can’t help commending Gabriela Tylesova’s work in this one, given the sheer range, from beachwear to wedding attire and everything in between. Tom Slade directs a nine-piece band through an eclectic mix of high-tempo tunes, ballads, and of course, ABBA songs. This isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But it is an engaging and enthusiastic show, delivered by a committed cast.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Undateable. Unemployable. Unstoppable.
Stuck in a dead-end life in Porpoise Spit, Muriel dreams of the perfect wedding – the white dress, the church, the attention.
Unfortunately, there’s one thing missing: a groom. Following her dreams to Sydney, Muriel ends up with everything she ever wanted – a man, a fortune and a million social media followers.
That’s when things start to really go wrong.
Muriel Heslop – Megan Ellis
Rhonda Epinstall – Annabel Marlow
Bill Heslop – Darren Day
Betty Heslop – Laura Medforth
Perry Heslop – Jacob Warner
Malcolm Heslop – Joseph Peacock
Joanie Heslop – Lena Pattie Jones
Tania – Helen Hill
Cheryl – Lillie-Pearl Wildman
Nicole – Jasmine Beel
Janine – Daisy Twells
Brice Nobes – Ethan Pascal Peters
Alexander Shkuratov – Stephen Madsen
Ken – Chris Bennett
Deidre / Frida – Bronte Alice-Tadman
Agnetha – Jasmine Hackett
Benny – Aaron Tsindos
Björn – Jamie Doncaster
Saunders – Edward Turner
Pascal – Carlo Boumouglbay
Driscoll – Andrew Berlin
Berris – Sophie Linder-Lee
Karen – Charlotte O’Rourke
Off-Stage Swings – Lizzie Nance, Jamil Abbasi, Will Luckett, Serina Matthew
Book by PJ Hogan
Music and Lyrics by Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall
With additional songs by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson originally written for ABBA
Directed by Simon Phillips
Choreographer – Andrew Hallsworth
Musical Supervisor, Orchestrations, Arrangements and Additional Music – Isaac Hayward
Set Designer – Matt Kinley
Costume Designer – Gabriela Tylesova
Video Design and Creation – Andrzej Goulding
Lighting Designer – Natasha Chivers
Sound Designer – Adam Fisher
Hair, Wigs and Make-Up Design – Campbell Young Associates
Casting Director – Stuart Burt CDG CDA
Associate Director and Choreographer – Ellen Simpson
Musical Director – Tom Slade
MURIEL’S WEDDING THE MUSICAL
A Made at Curve and Global Creatures co-production in association with Sydney Theatre Company
Based on the original motion picture Muriel’s Wedding written and directed by PJ Hogan, produced by Lynda House and Jocelyn Moorhouse
Curve, Leicester
11 April to 10 May 2025
