Calamity Jane UK & Ireland Tour Review (Alhambra Theatre, Bradford)

02 September 2025 I 19:30 I Alhambra Theatre, Bradford

⭐⭐⭐ I PR - Invite

The western 50s musical comedy Calamity Jane rolls on into Bradford's Alhambra Theatre this week, in Nikolai Foster's stylistically confident production. Touring a traditionalist revival across the UK & Ireland, a positively safe vision loses the Wild of the West as original writing proves tame. The Deadwood Stage, very much like its name, craves more life and untamed tenacity to reach its audiences.

The men of Deadwood swoon for actress Adelaid Adams in a heavily gender-led narrative, finding humour in mistaken identities and absurdly joyous cross-dressing. However, a masculine and brash-personalitied Calamity feels pushed aside, as we traverse her discoveries of love and womanhood through Ronald Hanmer and Phil Park's light-hearted book.

Led by a marvellous actor-musician ensemble, there is a terrific live heartiness to the score. In a small Black Hills town, everyone knows everyone, with such an evident trust through the company. These orchestrations have never sounded more beautiful, with opening songs establishing boisterous energies and settings. The further in we go, Sammy Fain's music blends into audible similarity. Post-performance, it can be hard to distinguish scenes separately with the stereotypical Western sound not once faltering.

Photography Credit: Mark Senior

Carrie Hope Fletcher delivers the score effortlessly, with a remarkably polished enunciation and musicality to clearly define Calamity's fearless and compassionate character. Her well-acted, feisty showmanship blows audiences away with rapturous applause.

Temporarily covering the role, Tomas Wolstenholme's patronising Wild Bill Hickok is wonderfully complex, showcasing a confident and towering stride that disguises his affections. Wolstenholme's Act Two opener Higher Than A Hawk ensures his role a gentlemanly likability, certainly a performer to watch for the future!

Nick Winston's choreography has a grounded earthiness, notably the Hoedown ball as a dynamic standout to the show. There is a number of tap-inspired sequences, where the music cuts to focus on the sound of the shoes. Although without metals or sturdy shoes, a near-silent scuffling is awkward when expected to carry the tune in an easily fixable solution.

The musical very much knows what it wants to be, fronted by Matthew Wright's theatre-within-a-theatre design. A rustic saloon turned backstage area is gloriously genre-defining, enhancing a static set with pianos and chairs transforming into makeshift wagons, whisking us into a land of make-believe. Complimented by Tim Mitchell's dreamy lighting designs, both raucous full-cast scenes and intimate love affairs with delicate footlighting are crucial to this production's visual storytelling.

Photography Credit: Mark Senior

Where Calamity's rejections of feminine ideals are somewhat progressive within an 1870s setting, Act Two's A Woman's Touch is an eye-twitcher that's tonally regressive in comparison, reducing the work done on female empowerment. Needless to say, Seren Sandham-Davies' turn as Katie Brown, from plucky maid to superstar showgirl is delightfully endearing and confidently achieved.

Hosting an audience occasionally rowdier than the show, the best word to describe this revival is nice. Its creative identity leads to some fascinating scenes, but there isn't enough substance if you are looking to be blown away. As a classic musical, Foster's direction of Calamity Jane is safely respectful and brilliant to see returning to the theatre scene, now inspiring me to watch the 1953 Doris Day film!

Tickets and Info: https://calamityjanemusical.com/