The Bodyguard – breaking conventions to create a rich musical adaptation of the 1992 film (Grand Opera House until Saturday 30 September)

The Bodyguard builds on some great musical theatre performances with a set dripping with style and panache and a lighting rig that stands out from most touring productions to create a worthy adaptation of the 1992 film. The production is packed with familiar hits. The focus is switched from the muscly protector Frank Farmer to the successful singer Rachel Marron who is at risk. While men stand admiring Rachel’s talent, her sister Nicki is left seething with jealousy, though how this rivalry plays out in the stage show differs from the movie.

Emily Williams (Australian Idol) took over the main role in the UK tour a couple of weeks ago and performs two thirds of the show’s songs. She makes it seem effortless as she demonstrates a huge vocal range and a variety of dynamics. Her Rachel is at first a carefree and confident diva before shrinking into herself as she acknowledges some of the danger she faces from a stalker. The pre-interval performance of I Have Nothing is sublime.

While it feels like Ayden Callaghan might not get a chance to sing at all, before the end of act one he trashes the first verse of Dolly Parton’s version of I Will Always Love You before coming out of his shell and nailing the second verse. Unfortunately, there’s no room for his vocals to be squeezed into the (nearly) all-singing all-dancing I Wanna Dance With Somebody finale.

Rachel’s son Fletcher (played last night by Kaylen Luke) has great presence, stealing nearly every scene the nine-year-old appears in with strong dialogue and singing. Emily-Mae plays Nicki Marron, Rachel’s overlooked sister, and impresses with her first act Saving All My Love For You and an emotional rendition of All At Once later in the show. (No surprise that she’s a cover for the role of Rachel.)

For what should be a big emotional turning point in the story, the plot doesn’t linger at all when one character dies in the second act: the show must go on, but the speed of mood change is pretty callous and breakneck.

Part of the charm of this production is that it plays up to its filmic roots rather than hiding them. Film/stage crossover rules are broken to good effect. There’s selective use of video (Duncan McLean) to amplify the sense of noir and switch the audience between Rachel’s public appearances and home life. The sound effects and soundscape from the six performers in the pit are cinematic. Tim Hatley’s exquisite set services so many different locations while Mark Henderson’s lighting design shifts the mood within scenes.

The heat is immediately turned up in the opening concert number Queen of the Night before the pyrotechnics withdraw and the high energy set morphs into a less hectic rehearsal room. The transitions between scenes in musical shows are usually either full of energy sapping nothingness covered by the house band finishing one song and starting the next, or incredibly complex and graceful choreography as cast members push and carry props on stage as if starring in a ballet. The Bodyguard instead uses slow-moving scrims, brick patterned flats and moving sectional curtains to divert your gaze and repaint the stage, never rushing to complete their moves. It’s unusual but very elegant.

Going into the theatre, I wondered whether stage version of The Bodyguard would feel like a tribute to Whitney Houston, the powerful singer whose performance dominated the original feature film. I caught a screening of the documentary Whitney: Can I Be Me in Glasgow Film Theatre one afternoon in 2017 while waiting for the sleeper train back to London. It was a devastating portrayal of the singer’s life and the influence – often negative – of those who entered her inner circle. Some 24 and a bit years after I watched The Bodyguard in the soon to be defunct Cannon cinema in Belfast, comparisons and parallels between the life of Houston and the fictional Rachel Marron were hard to miss. But the musical manages to honour the film rather than the actress.

Director Thea Sharrock takes the essence of the popular film, retains the jump scares, and transforms it into a high energy story of ambition, lust and loss. The Bodyguard is gracing the stage of the Grand Opera House until Saturday 30 September.

Photo credit: Paul Coltas

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