Debbie Gilpin

Even though this is one of the most commonly staged of all Shakespeare plays, productions like this are irresistible. Hytner and his cast and creatives have found a way of bottling pure joy, and I can only advise him to keep sharing it around every few years - that would be a recurring Dream that no one could get bored of.

Let’s get this clear from the beginning: if you’re trying to find some sort of deeper meaning behind this show, then quit while you’re ahead. Clueless the Musical exists as pure entertainment; a fun bit of escapism for what is still quite a bleak and dreary time - and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The best thing about this production is that (unlike other film to stage adaptations like Dirty Dancing) it isn’t a complete carbon copy of the film, thanks to the multitude of original compositions that form the backbone of the show.

Although in need of a bit of polishing, this is another fine example of why Shakespeare’s Globe needs to continue to pursue new writing projects; amidst another largely uninspiring summer programme, this title stood out from the get-go, and has proven itself to be another fresh hit. A delightful and educational piece of theatre that deserves to be seen by audiences everywhere.

Unfortunately, the structural drawbacks of the theatre conspire to make this more of an endurance test than thrilling theatrical experience. Unless you fit in the Venn diagram of hearing person and BSL fluent, if you want to know what’s going on you need to spend at least half of the play reading big chunks of text - and the whole thing with Shakespeare is that it has a far greater effect on you if you get the words direct from the actor. This is why teachers bring students to the theatre, rather than just making them read the script.

There’s no getting away from the fact that most people coming to see this show are doing so out of curiosity over Broderick and Parker’s onstage chemistry - fortunately they have it by the bucketload, which makes up for some of the shortfall in the material. Broderick is best suited to the more naturally comedic acts two and three, particularly with his Austin Powers-esque Hollywood producer Jesse Kiplinger; he lacks the emotional depth required for Sam Nash, delivering most of his lines in quite a sitcom-like manner.

On paper, it really isn’t the most obvious book to turn into a musical, but somehow it just about works. Butcher and Ling’s songs are enjoyable, with some real toe-tappers like “Uma Vida” peppered throughout; though not a complete measure of a song’s quality, none are particularly memorable – “The Little Big Things” only sticks in your head on the way out of the theatre because it’s the last song you hear (and the chorus is repeated multiple times). Employing a pop-rock score is an interesting choice – and definitely grounds the action in the late noughties – but ultimately means many of the songs are rather samey.