Fame The Musical at Theatre Royal Plymouth – review

The halls of high school have become a well-trodden setting for stage musicals in recent years, but before Mean Girls, Clueless and Heathers, there was another high school musical not easily forgotten.

Fame the Musical, based on the iconic 1980 film, follows a cohort of aspiring dancers, actors and musicians as they navigate a smorgasbord of teenage conflicts at a performing arts school. Some are very specific to the craft (sneaking off to auditions and “extending through the fingertips” during ballet class), while others are much more relatable: self-discovery, romantic squabbles and finding your place in a world that feels perpetually against you.

The production does a great job of walking the line between the niche and the universally resonant, ensuring it appeals to those with a love for the performing arts without alienating casual theatregoers. Still, an ensemble musical spanning four academic years leaves director Tom Jackson Greaves with a lot of ground to cover. For the most part, Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Fame lives up to its name and reputation.

With such a talented ensemble of performers, Fame has a challenge on its hands. Character stories unfold in fragments, meaning scenes aren’t always given the space or context to allow audiences to invest in every storyline or performance. For example, when Schlomo (James Hastings) professes his love for Carmen (Talia Palamathanan), despite the pair having only shared a single meaningful interaction on stage previously, it makes what should be a pivotal moment for both characters feel unearned.

The most compelling dynamic is that of Serena (Megan Ellis) and Nick (Joe Boyle), two drama students who navigate the trials of their friendship via the various plays they are assigned to perform together. The relationship between this pair is reinterpreted for this revival, which only makes Serena’s yearning in “Let’s Play a Love Scene” even more nuanced. Every time Ellis is on stage, she is captivating: simultaneously hilarious and tender.

Shanay Holmes’ Mrs Sherman is outstanding, stoic and firm, yet conveys an undeniable compassion through every scolding head tilt. This duality is perfectly captured in “These Are My Children”; it’s a moving and vocally breathtaking performance that is likely to have audiences thinking back to that one teacher they have never quite forgotten.

Being set in a performing arts school, it suits that every beat of every number is meticulously considered. At times, the stage feels almost overwhelmingly busy, but then again, so does any school corridor. The bustling choreography (courtesy of Jackson Greaves and Tinovimbanashe Sibanda) is given room to breathe when paired with Soutra Gilmour’s ingenious kinetic set, its swivelling walls and staircases becoming part of each number and creating the sensation that the students are dancing through the school’s hallways.

Surprisingly, the titular number, “Fame”, is among the production’s more restrained moments, while “There She Goes!” delivers one of its most memorable statements. As the company manoeuvres dance mirrors towards us while singing “look at the crowd”, the audience is on stage in this moment. It is a simple but confronting image that forces patrons to consider who they are, what they want to become, and whether they are ready to step into the spotlight, whatever that may look like when they leave the theatre.

Despite its challenges, Fame’s potential and heart are undeniable. A revival worth remembering.