Bonnie and Clyde at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Review

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Tue 05 Mar 2024 - Sat 09 Mar 2024

Bearing in mind we see the famous gangsters Bonnie and Clyde killed in a shoot-out in the first moments of this musical I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say the show then tells their story leading up to their deaths.

Created in America 15 years ago, Bonnie and Clyde has gone on to be a huge hit with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic – continuing the public’s fascination with the young bank robbers.

The musical centres on the relationship between Bonnie and Clyde as much as on their crimes as well as bringing in the parallel story of Clyde’s brother Buck and his wife Blanche.



Written by Ivan Menchell, the story begins with a young Clyde facing abject poverty who turns to crime to raise some income. Initially arrested for burglary alongside his brother, prison hardens the young man and his crime spree gradually increases in recklessness and violence until he becomes the brutal killer known in popular culture.

Alex James-Hatton gives us a Clyde who can evoke empathy in the audience. When we see him being abused in prison we feel sympathy for a young man in difficult circumstances and there is humour in his relationship with Bonnie – not least in their argument about whether they should be Bonnie and Clyde or Clyde and Bonnie.

Bonnie is played by Katie Tonkinson as a woman driven by her intense love for Clyde but also by her own desires to be rich and famous. She is delighted when newspapers talk about them, and when she equates her infamy with the fame of Hollywood stars we see just how desperate she is for recognition.

Also brought into the drama is Clyde’s brother Buck who begins a life of crime but is then persuaded onto the straight and narrow by his wife Blanche. Again we feel sympathy for Sam Ferriday’s Buck as he is torn between following his wife’s advice and supporting his brother.

This may be the first musical for former Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley but she seems perfectly at home as Blanche. She begs Buck to remain at home, picturing a perfect world in the tender song Now That’s What You Call a Dream. And, despite this wish, she loves Buck so much that she follows her husband along whichever path he chooses.



With music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Don Black the musical features a host of great songs from the anthemic 'This World Will Remember Us' to sensitive moments between Bonnie and Clyde centred around 'Too Late To Turn Back Now' and 'Bonnie.'

Philip Witcomb’s sets with video design by Nina Dunn make clever use of the theme of bullet holes and prison bars – ensuring we never forget what really lies at the heart of this drama. The characters are given numerous moments when they could change their lives and their fates but we know where their paths will ultimately lead them.

Directed and choreographed by Nick Winston, the show is less about huge song and dance routines and more focused on the conflicts at the heart of the relationships of our lead characters.
We are also reminded that their criminal lives created a raft of victims – not just in those they killed or wounded but also in their own families who had to live with the notoriety of their loved ones.

A successful musical doesn’t have to have heroes as its protagonists, indeed many of the best shows rest on the ambivalent natures and actions of their characters, and Bonnie and Clyde sits firmly in this tradition.

It’s a great musical with a wonderful soundtrack and memorable characters. While audiences will be repelled by the actions of the Barrow Gang, it’s hard not to be pulled into their stories in this show.

Bonnie and Clyde plays Wolverhampton Grand until March 2 and Birmingham Hippodrome
on September 3-7 when Clyde is due to be played by Danny Hatchard.

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