Carrie was an infamous musical theatre flop when it was first brought to the stage in 1988. The show only managed to run for five official performances on Broadway, cementing itself as one of the most expensive disasters for New York theatre in history. However, in the almost 40 years since then, Carrie has grown into something of a cult hit among musical theatre fans: both through fascination about how a show could be such a catastrophe and through its ongoing pop culture presence. New productions since the 1980s have attempted to inject fresh life and cohesive creative visions into the material (it’s reported that, when working on the original production, there was a miscommunication within the creative team about Grease being an inspiration for the show, resulting in much confusion when the cast were dressed in togas and directed as if in a Greek tragedy!). Bromley Musical Theatre Company brings their version of Carrie to the intimate Jack Studio Theatre in Brockley, in a modernised telling featuring committed and enthusiastic performances - and thankfully not a toga in sight!

Carrie combines a book by Lawrence D. Cohen with lyrics by Dean Pitchford and music by Michael Gore to adapt Stephen King’s novel of the same name to the stage. The show tells the story of the titular Carrie (Catherine Clay), a teenage girl isolated from and bullied by her high school peers who is controlled by her religious mother, Margaret (Lauren Fitzgerald). Carrie’s mistreatment escalates until reaching the infamous prom night scene, where bullies pour pig’s blood on her. This cruelty leads to Carrie unleashing her telekinetic powers on those who have wronged her, with disastrous consequences.

Director Caitlin Hargreaves brings the story into the 21st century, with characters filming the tormenting of Carrie on their phones throughout the show - a choice which works well in the production. There’s even a meta nod to the original source material when a member of the ensemble is seen reading Stephen King’s book. Another directorial choice that the production benefits from is having the two interrogators (Molly Richardson and Alison Zrada) that Carrie’s classmate Sue (Clodagh O’Neill) is being questioned by about the events of the story on stage throughout, watching as the events unfold. As invisible presences within the story, they also move objects around to show Carrie’s telekinetic abilities. Another element of the production to be praised is the staging of Carrie being doused in blood at prom, opting to use a bucket of fake blood to create the visual synonymous with Carrie, where other companies have often taken the safer (and less messy) route of using lighting or streamers instead.

As Carrie, Catherine Clay captures the character’s emotional turmoil well, in a compelling central performance. Particularly in the duets between Carrie and her mother, both Clay and Fitzgerald’s vocals are impressive. Similarly when being taunted and bullied by her classmates, Clay believably portrays the character’s timid and scared reactions as well as her contrasting rage at the climax of the show. Another standout in the cast is Clodagh O’Neill as Sue Snell, the only classmate who feels guilty about their mistreatment of Carrie and is the one to tell the story to the interrogators after Carrie has unleashed her fury on the school. O’Neill switches between playing Sue in these two different timelines with ease, and we as an audience are easily able to differentiate the past from the present as a result. The show also contains many featured and ensemble roles, performed energetically by the cast, that are given opportunities to shine, including through humorous ad-libs and acting choices.

In conclusion, Bromley Musical Theatre Company have put together an engaging production of Carrie. Furthermore, drawing on themes of the stigma around menstruation found in the material, they encouraged audience members to bring period products to each show, which will be donated to local charity The Hygiene Bank Bromley, demonstrating a focus on community that goes beyond the company itself.

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