When the mention of the novel or film by the name of Carrie the first thought is blood, not musical theatre so you may be surprised to learn that there is indeed musical based on the Stephen King novel. It tells the story of outcast Carrie who is bullied at school for being different, largely due to her protective upbringing. Carrie however soon discovers that she has the power of telekinesis and whilst her outbursts start out small, they soon escalate to make it a night the school will never forget!

Whilst the book of the show isn’t perfect, it is full of larger than life characters who are easy to watch on stage. The show was simply staged which allowed the audience to focus on the people within the story, who should rightly be the focal point of the show. There also seemed to be a focus of the show on the impact of bullying and whilst Carrie’s story is unique there is perhaps a wider takeaway from the show around this theme.

Carrie was played by Sadie Kempner who perfectly captured Carrie’s naivety and innocence. She also displayed wonderful character growth as Carrie developed in confidence throughout the musical. Her relationship with her mother, Margaret White, played by Nina Zendejas was beautifully portrayed, a toxic relationship but one underpinned with love, even though it may have been misguided. Zendejas gave a commanding performance as Margaret White and her vocals were exceptional.

Carrie is told through the eyes of Sue Snell, one of the few kindhearted students at Carrie’s school. Sue was played by Ellie McWilliam and her relationship with Adam Richardson who played Tommy Ross, her high school sweetheart, was genuinely one that the audience believed in.

There are clearly many technical elements needed for a show like Carrie in order to display her telekinesis and whilst I do not want to give any spoilers away Sedos interpretation of this was exceptional. It meant that Carrie’s moments where her telekinesis flared up were some of my highlights of the show. I must commend Chris Adams and Paul Brookland Williams (director and movement director) for the courage to take this route as well as Polly Hayes for her vital part in it. Other elements such as flashing lights and windows slamming shut were all well thought out and timed well to add to the suspense of the show.

Once again Sedos have presented a rarely performed musical to a wider audience and judging from the sell out audiences I was not the only one excited by this. With a talented cast and a strong direction for the piece Sedos have once again presented a show that I would urge people to see….. if it wasn’t sold out already!

Carrie is running until 29th October at the Bridewell. If you want to see what else Sedos are up to you can check out their website here.

If you like this revie then you might also like my review of American Idiot by Sedos, Huge Stick of Musical Rock by Centre Stage and Working by Sedos.