Last Updated on February 17, 2026
Ringing the Changes at the Bridge
Nicolas Hytner’s prizewinning 2023 production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ at the Bridge Theatre, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, is getting refreshed. Some new cast members are being brought in so it seems like a good time to review. With the audience divided into standing and sitting sections, I want to see how the standing cohort is integrated into the action, or not.
I have dim memories of the brassy splendours of Richard Eyre’s 1982 production of Guys and Dolls at the National; but more firmly imprinted in my consciousness is Joseph.L.Mankiewicz’s 1955 film starring Marlon Brando oozing a disengaged macho intensity in a Royal Stetson Fedora hat as the existentialist gambler Sky Masterton. Brando plays opposite a disgruntled Frank Sinatra as the sentimental hustler Nathan Detroit. Sinatra had wanted Brando’s role and so refused to communicate with him on set, nicknaming him ‘Mumbles’. The film provides a bleached-out, airbrushed view of New York’s Broadway scene in the 20s and 30s with the narrative loosely adapted from a couple of Damon Runyon short stories. It is the mannered lope of Runyon’s text, his picaresque characters and mythologisation of the Broadway demi-monde that gives the film its identity. There are some great performances, particularly from Jean Simmons in a Golden Globe winning turn as the prim Sarah Brown, and with fabulous choreography and art direction, there is plenty to seduce the viewer away from contemporary critical perspectives.
Building on their productions of Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Nicolas Hytner and set designer Bunny Christie have brought the production values of ‘Guys and Dolls’ into the modern day. The show is an immersive riot of kinetic energy. the action weaving in and out of the standing element of the audience who are expertly marshalled by the crew, as stage elements rise and fall and props and cast zip around. Neon signs mark the various locations where the action is set. From the seated area, the visual experience is sculptural and fluid, from the floor you are pulled into the drama through the proximity to the actors. With diverse casting, a plethora of body types and a gay salsa dance feature this is very much a piece of 21st century London theatre built on the bones of the original show.
The narrative is centred around the attempts of street hustler Nathan Detroit to find a venue for his regular game of craps. Nathan has been engaged to nightclub entertainer Miss Adelaide for 14 years. She is desperate to get hitched and to stop Nathan from running his games. Nathan finds a prospective venue but has to raise $1000 to pay for it in advance. To raise the funds, Nathan makes a bet with high-roller Sky Masterson that Sky won’t be able to take Sarah Brown, the leader of the ‘Save a Soul’ mission out on a dinner date in Havana. With two couples and a central bet to drive the plot, the structure is positively Mozartian.
Newcomer Owain Arthur leads the line as Nathan Detroit. Arthur is more of a bustling Nathan Lane type in the role than the sinuous Frank Sinatra. This is no bad thing as it amps up the physical elements of the comedy. Arthur strikes the right balance between Nathan Detroit’s unlikely romantic sentimentality and the character’s commitment to the hustle in the tricky Act 2 duet ‘Sue Me’ with his fiancée Miss Adelaide.
Another newbie Timmika Ramsay plays Miss Adelaide, bringing a curvy sensuality to the part along with a fine comedic sensibility. Her voice copes with Loesser’s melodic twists and turns with aplomb but she also brings a hint of a blues rasp and the occasional R&B vocal inflection to the part. As the featured performer at the ‘Hot Box’ nightclub Ramsay is a clever amalgam of Beyoncé and Josephine Baker, dressed in a tasselled sparkling black leather leotard, bringing the house down with the showstopper ‘Take Back Your Mink’.
George Ioannides is as cool as a cucumber as Sky Masterson. If not totally vocally convincing with the gentle romance of ‘I’ve Never Been in Love Before’ he delivers a dynamic rendition of his signature tune ‘Luck Be A Lady’, leading the ensemble with energy and a resonant vocal.
The character of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls is a tricky one to play as the character moves from a buttoned-up piety to being a fist-fighting bar brawler. Celinde Schoenmaker doesn’t have Jean Simmons’ naïve vulnerability as the former but fully embraces the latter with glee. With the tonal clarity of her classic musical theatre voice, Schoenmaker delivers a gorgeous version of the classic ‘If I Were a Bell’.
This is very much an ensemble piece with lots to enjoy in the supporting roles. It’s hard to better Stubby Kaye’s film characterisation of Nicely-Nicely Johnson, one of Detroit’s henchmen, but new cast member Jonathan Andrew Hume delivered a barnstorming version of ‘Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ which had a final reprise featuring a spine-tingling old-school gospel vocal arrangement. Niall Buggy was avuncular but firm in a Joe Bidenesque fashion as Sarah Brown’s father figure Arvide Abernathy, Cornelius Clarke was suitably feisty and exasperated as Irish cop Lieutenant Brannigan and Cameron Johnson, as the mobster Big Jule, brought an impressive level of comedy out of his imposing frame and deep rasping voice.
Costumes by Bunny Christie and Deborah Andrews are all pastels and plaid with the guys wearing lived-in suits and hats, and the dolls dressed up to the nines. Arlene Phillips’ choreography is sophisticated and artful, combining eras and styles into a seamless dance tapestry that turns the theatre into a throbbing organic entity. She is a national treasure whose work is still very relevant.
The sound by Paul Arditti was very well managed being punchy but in no way overpowering giving plenty of headroom for Tom Brady’s arrangements. The excellent swinging young band was not over compressed allowing lots of room for dynamics whilst the vocals were always clear and well balanced.
‘Guys and Dolls’ is one of the great musicals. Frank Loesser’s lyrics and melodies are perfectly integrated, there isn’t a loose syllable at large, and the drama and music work together seamlessly. Nicolas Hytner’s production steams on, thrilling and entertaining the audience, modernising without losing the essence of the show. Go and see it, and if you have the energy and good enough knees, stand!
Guys & Dolls is booking at the Bridge Theatre until 31 August 2024.
Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, London, SE1 2SG
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