The Drifters Girl
Norwich Theatre
In the second week of its first ever UK tour, The Drifters Girl is gracing the Norwich Theatre Royal stage with an exciting and eccentric bang! It had a previous run on the West End at the Garrick Theatre back in 2022 and was nominated for Best New Musical at the Oliviers the same year.
I have to say, I went in knowing virtually nothing about this show. I wanted to surprise myself - all I knew was that it was about the Drifters and their ‘girl’, who turned out to be Faye Treadwell, their passionate and loyal manager who led the band to success in the 50s and 60s. The premise of the show revolves around Faye (Carly Mercedes Dyer) telling the story of the Drifters’ rise to fame to her young daughter, Tina Treadwell (Jaydah Bell-Ricketts) - from legal battles to changing line-ups to personal tragedy to misogyny and racism in the music industry, they faced many hurdles in their long and eventful career.
What I really loved and found interesting about the show was its incredibly small ensemble cast - 6 people in total were on the stage for the entire show, with the four male leads swapping roles nearly every number with the use of costume, accents and impressions. We also had an understudy on for this performance, Tré Copeland-Williams, who was supported by main cast members Miles Anthony Daley, Ashford Campbell and Tarik Frimpong. The choreography and the vocals were breathtaking, and there was a very deserving thunderous round of applause after every number. You really couldn't tell that it was only the second week of the tour; all the cast members seemed so comfortable in their roles, nailing the jokes and really drawing the audiences in for the more serious emotional sections of the show.
The stage design was great too, with a brilliant use of sliding panels and physical theatre to indicate changes in scenery and location. As a right theatre geek, I get so excited when a stage is used to a production’s advantage, rather than trying to make a show too simplistic.
As I mentioned, I wasn't familiar with the Drifters' story at all before watching - I only knew of Ben E. King and Stand By Me! But I loved seeing the story behind their rallying success and learning that a powerful woman was behind this group and driving the way for them the whole time! It was a treat for the eyes and ears, and I would highly recommend it.
The Drifters Girl is performing at the Theatre Royal until September 23rd, before carrying on its UK tour until May 2024.
