Reviewed: Muriel's Wedding at Curve

You can even be part of the show!

Photography by Marc Brenner

By the time the foam swimming noodle fight erupts on a cruise ship (spectacularly choreographed to a thumping beat and more exhilarating than any swordplay on the West End) you know for sure that you're in for a wild ride with Muriel’s Wedding The Musical.

Based on the beloved 1994 Australian film, this ABBA-infused musical is a riot of colour and chaos, stitched together with enough heart to make it mean something important.

Muriel Heslop (Megan Ellis), our morally murky heroine, may lie and cheat her way to the altar, but you can’t help falling for her yourself. She’s played with a magnetic energy and gives hypnotically brilliant vocals while pulling off both hilarious and heartbreaking performances. It’s a star-making performance, capturing the tragedy and triumph of a young woman trying to rewrite her own story.

The Made At Curve production revels in its over-the-top aesthetic. Costumes are unapologetically garish (inspiring new looks perhaps!). The set is a marvel, constantly slotting into place with cinematic precision. One moment we’re in a neon store, the next a casino, a suburban living room, or a swimming pool. LED panels flicker and shift to bring this kaleidoscope of Muriel’s world to life. The use of the stage revolve gives scenes an unexpected fluidity and emotional depth.

Photography by Marc Brenner

And then there are the bullies... God, I love those bitches. The four former high school “friends” turned Instagram-savvy adult mean girls are iconic, serving up pitch-perfect parodies of today’s influencer culture. Helen Hill, Lillie-Pearl Wildman, Jasmine Beel and Daisy Twells play their love-to-hate characters impeccably.

Special mention must go to Ethan Pascal Peters playing Brice Nobes with gentle, bumbling charm. As Muriel’s awkward love interest, he’s the grounding force in her whirlwind of bad decisions, and someone you root for from the moment he arrives. Equally scene-stealing is Chris Bennett as Ken, the swimming instructor, whose comic timing and physicality make his every moment on stage a delight.

As for Annabel Marlow as Rhonda (Muriel’s new best friend and chaotic soulmate), she’s irresistibly loveable, full of life, and brings an emotional clarity that cuts through the shallowness of the other characters around her.

The choreography throughout is on another level: intricate and high energy creating a purely joyful madness. That wild first act swipes through scenes with not a lot of regard for logic, but is so infectious that you simply don’t care how you got from scene to scene.

Photography by Marc Brenner

The tone shifts in the second act as themes of cancer, suicide, and familial neglect rise to the surface. Toni Collette’s cinematic legacy is honoured, but the stage version allows more space for characters like Muriel’s mother, Betty (Laura Medforth), played with such a quiet devastation. Her portrayal is gentle, beautiful, and heartbreakingly real. The song 'My Mother (Eulogy)' is a real tear jerker and Muriel delivers it with the heart that Betty deserves.

Other stand-out songs are 'Dancing Queen', which is the anthem of the show, while 'Waterloo' is reimagined with fun, high-energy choreography. 'Girls Like Us' is full of empowerment and kickstarts Muriel's and Rhonda's friendship. And 'Share, Viral, Linked, Liked' cleverly satirises our use of social media with its witty lyrics and catchy rhythm.

And if all that weren’t enough, Muriel’s Wedding allows audience members to sign up to appear on stage during the Muriel's wedding scene... you will be expected to play a kazoo though.

See Muriel's Wedding The Musical at Curve until May 10.