Review: Ruthless (Arts Theatre)

After it’s successful Off-Broadway run, Ruthless! has made it’s West End debut at the Arts Theatre, and is “Born to Entertain” you in a hilarious, yet disturbing way.

Ruthless! tells the tale of right year old Tina, who dreams of being a broadway star and is willing to go to very extreme lengths in order to win the leading role in her school play. With a darkly comic undertone throughout, this show disguises itself as a naively-irritating golden age-esque musical before suddenly revealing it’s truly morbid intentions.

The cast were wonderful, with stunning performnces from Damcing On Ice’s Jason Gardiner and original Broadway revival cast member, Kim Maresca. However the stage truly belonged to the young girl playing Tina, Anya Evans, as her presence onstage was captivating and meant that I just could not take my eyes off of her performance throughout the whole show. A notable mention should also go to Tracie for her fantastic rendition of “I Hate Musicals” which was the true star of the end of act one.

Morgan Large’s set design was perfectly in keeping with the tone of the show, especially the contrast between the sets of act one and act two, which completely changed the atmosphere of the show.. However costume design, also by Morgan Large, was the most engaging visual element for me. With lavish 1950s inspired gowns as well as Broadway sequinned dresses – every member of the cast had a beautiful outfit which perfectly complimented their character.

One issue I did find with the show was the lack of emotional connection. Whilst this is a common trope within comical shows, it was rather frustrating as an audience member to be unable to relate to any of the heavily stereotyped characters within the show. Whilst every joke still landed well, it was quite a challenge to be invested in the story when I had no connection to any of the characters involved. Perhaps if this show had a slightly more human sentiment to it – this show would be much more impactful for its audience?

Regardless of its emotive integrity, Ruthless! is an enjoyable night out and certainly a unique experience. It stands out brilliantly in the currently heavily-contemporary West End line up and will undoubtably leave its mark during its run at the Arts Theatre.