The Little Cardiff Blog

Before Clueless and Mean Girls, there was Heathers, a cynical black comedy which brought to the screen a total subversion of the 'All American High School' often portrayed in teen movies. It quickly acquired an enthusiastic cult fanbase and after watching the show, it's not hard to see how the high-energy musical adaptation has gained a dedicated following of its very own. Heathers is probably the most absurd and chaotic musical I've ever seen. I went in without knowing too much about it (I attempted to watch the film once but it was a long time before studying a film degree -  the layers, satire and smart writing were clearly wasted on me and I only made it half way through!) and was definitely surprised at how dark the themes were throughout. The nihilistic motivations of the main characters don't lead to typical teenage arguments and backstabbing - the stakes are high, with people being murdered in cold blood left right and centre. The show is peppered with songs...

"A little bit of glitter in the grey"...one of the lyrics in this musical's impeccable score that really stuck with me. In a world where things haven't been so great over the past 18 months - to say the least - this beautiful, gorgeously camp and heart-warming show will put a smile on your face, make you laugh repeatedly and have you humming along to the feel-good songs that are some of the catchiest I've heard in a long time! Jamie is sixteen and living on a council estate in Sheffield; the school misfit who's in the process discovering who he truly is. He quickly reveals that his secret dream is to be a drag queen and he's ready to do whatever it takes to achieve it. We follow Jamie on his journey as he faces opposition from those who don't approve of his unconventional choices, like his deadbeat dad and school bully Dean. Thankfully he also receives a whole lot of love and support from his mum, Margaret, her best friend Ray and his closest friend, P...

Well, that was certainly something different! Crude, vulgar, provocative and at times made me seriously wonder I’d be going to hell for laughing, but nonetheless, it was absolutely brilliant. The Book of Mormon has long been on my radar as a South Park fan. I was never allowed to watch the show when my school friends did, so it was only in my early twenties that I discovered the comic genius of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Their brand of swear-word-heavy satire transitions seamlessly from animated sitcom to Broadway, and with Robert Lopez (Avenue Q) joining as Composer, the production has garnered an impressive string of awards since premiering in March 2011 (nine Tonys!). The musical follows two Latter-day Saint missionaries looking to share the teachings from The Book of Mormon with the inhabitants of a remote village in Uganda, desperately trying to convert them and gain as many new recruits for the church as possible. Extreme poverty, famine, illness and Warlords threatening to kill...