Beetlejuice is a show which many musical theatre fans have been begging for a West End transfer for since it opened in 2019 on Broadway and this week they finally got their wish. Based on the 1988 film of the same name the show tells of Lydia Deetz who has just lost her mother and what happens when Lydia and her father move into the house of the recently deceased Adam and Barbara Maitland. Mixed up into all of this is a demon named Beetlejuice who is determined to ensure that living beings can see him and comes up with a plan to make this happen.
The themes of the show superficially profess to be about the afterlife, death and all things macabre however beneath the surface this is a production about family and belonging. Scott Brown and Anthony King are the book writers for this show and quickly establish a bonkers universe fronted by Beetlejuice himself but one that when you peel away the layers has a real depth and meaning. This ensures that whilst the show is always incredibly fun you also leave the theatre with a sense of warmth inside.
Part of this is achieved in the way the characters are drawn and their relationships with each other and the cast do a wonderful job of leaning into this crazy world but still having some depth to them. Fronting the show is David Fynn as Beetlejuice himself. Fynn has a brilliant way in making the audience believe that every quip and comment is improvised for the performance and each joke is curated especially for that evening which helps the audience really lean into a feeling of anarchy that Beetlejuice must create. Fynn bounds across the stage with energy and the innate ability of letting the audience feel like they are in on the joke as well as almost rooting for a demon. Hannah Nordberg makes her West End debut as Lydia Deetz and wow what a debut. She opens the show with ‘Invisible’ and from her first few refrains it is clear that that this role is in very safe hands. Her rendition of both ‘Dead Mom’ and ‘Home’ are highlights of the evening as she both shows off her vocal ability as well as her storytelling as she takes the audience on a journey with her throughout both of these numbers.
The rest of the cast are also brilliantly cast. David Hunter and Chelsea Halfpenny play the overly polite and anxious Adam and Barbara Maitland , who despite their demise at the start of the show go on a journey themselves. Hunter and Halfpenny capture the shows softer side and the emotional grounding providing a wonderful contrast to the manic humour of Beetlejuice.
Amie Atkinson plays Delia, Lydia’s life coach and Charles Deetz’ lover and this production demonstrates Atkinson’s brilliant comedy timing as well as her ability to make the audience warm to her despite how unlikely this may seem for her character.
The ensemble also lean into the madness and ‘What I Know Now’ and ‘That Beautiful Sound’ are great examples of this, the ensemble and the choreography by Conor Gallagher make sure that the production never feels like it stops for a dance break but instead every beat and moment is there to enhance the crazy world of Beetlejuice.
The music and lyrics for Beetlejuice are written by Eddie Perfect and he manages to succeed in producing a score that is emotionally warm, drives the characters forward but is often hilarious. The Whole Being Dead Thing sets the show up perfectly with its irreverent tone and breaks the fourth wall in a way that invites the audience into Beetlejuice’s chaotic world from the outset and by contrast ‘Home’ provides the piece with real warmth. It is a cast recording that I had been listening to long before I saw it on stage and seeing the songs in context added all the extra layers that I didn’t know were missing!
The set design by David Korins, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and projection design by Peter Nigrini all work together to create the effect of an ever-changing house, from the Maitlands traditional Victorian home to the Deetz’ super stylised model home finally through to Beetlejuice’s supernatural haunted house, where each time the basic structure is retained so it is recognisable but the transformation enhances the development in the plot each time. Together the set, lighting and projections create a world that pays homage to Tim Burton’s gothic aesthetic while still feeling entirely theatrical in its own right.
Beetlejuice is ultimately a musical that understands exactly what it is. It is loud, chaotic, bizarre and frequently ridiculous but underneath all of the supernatural madness and fourth wall breaks it is a story about belonging and finding people who make life a little less frightening. The West End production embraces both sides of this identity wholeheartedly. Whether you come for the spectacle, the comedy, the score or simply to see a cult Broadway hit in London, Beetlejuice leaves you walking out of the theatre with the same thing Lydia herself spends the show searching for, a sense of connection, belonging and that even the strangest people, or shows, can feel like home.
Beetlejuice is currently booking until April 2027 You can book tickets and check out seat views here.
If you like this review you might also like my review of Cabaret, Six and Hercules.