Local author and reviewer Jackie Green enjoys a high-energy musical with a live concert edge to it.
Girlz is an original musical written by Daf Hughes and follows the story of a brand new girl band and their first tumultuous year of joy, fear and tragedy. Despite being a story we all recognise (think Little Mix) it’s told through the eyes of the main character Nicky (Maggie Hughes) who narrates the storyline in a heartfelt Bridget Jones style. Though it deals with serious themes of mental health, drug abuse, media trolling and sexual bullying, Girlz has a thread of warm, cheeky, humour running through its core. The acting, dancing and vocal talents were impressive for such a young cast.
A manufactured band of inexperienced wannabe pop stars are thrown together by an obnoxious, sexist manager, Kyle Kashman (brilliantly played by John Paul McCrohon). Kyle unsurprisingly focuses entirely on profit and power while pushing these novices to the edge. It’s no secret that the music industry continues to hit the headlines for not protecting artists – but these five Girlz are stronger than they look.
As is usual with girl bands the members all have quite distinct back stories and characteristics. Nicky yearns for success but isn’t sure this will include her singer-songwriter boyfriend Adam who is already disillusioned with the music business. Alex (Keighley Smith) has a troubled past and continues to fight newer demons that are very much in the present. Frankie (Sophie Lockwood) is a more confident but frustrated singer-song writer who only auditioned for fun. Jaz (Zoe Antoniou) is an engagingly sweet character who has just left her parents for the first time, so is the more easily impressed band member. Kim (Luisa Edgecombe) is a young single mum with a lot more to lose than the others and so tries to keep all the Girlz (but especially the wild child Alex) in check.
Daf manages to find the balance between the hilariously entertaining pastiche of a recognisably over-produced pop number, ‘Three Minute Adventure’, two full-on choreographed live concert tracks, ‘Baby’ and ‘Ready or Not’ and finally, two beautifully written and performed songs, Nicky’s ‘Without You’ and Alex’s ‘In My Head’. The stripped back singer-songwriter track that melted my ancient heart was, ‘Girl from the Local Bar’, beautifully sung by Adam (Ethan Emery). The variety of music and authentic choreography is fine-tuned and fits the well-defined character story arcs perfectly. Girlz is a fast-paced, emotional musical that involves the real life pressures women face in the music industry.
Its creator, Daf Hughes, explained that this musical was developed in the summer during a series of workshops and the cast had only six days of concentrated rehearsals before opening on Friday. I found that frankly astounding for such a polished performance! He thanked the Havant and South Downs College for their support adding that the show was still in development. They are planning to take Girlz to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe and I personally think it’ll go down a storm.
Just like Bridget Jones’ Diary I am positive Girlz will become a firm favourite at the box office but don’t take my word for it. Check out the promo reel and see for yourself at girlzmusical.com as I’m sure the Girlz will be touring somewhere near you soon.
Girlz was performed on 21/22nd February 2025 at Havant & South Downs College. Picture courtesy of the production.
