Fatal Attraction arrived in Newcastle this week and, hot on the heels of sell out sensation Six, it certainly had big shoes to fill.
And for the most part, it fulfilled its brief.
If you’re after some engaging theatre to keep you occupied on a cold January night get yourself a ticket as the tale of a man who has a one (technically two) night stand with the wrong woman is certainly two theatre that will have you fully invested.
But, if you’re expecting something that’s going to have you jumping to your feet at the climax and waxing lyrical with superlatives, maybe consider your options.
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As a gay man in his 30s, Kym Marsh is nothing short of a pop culture icon for me, standing alongside the likes of Nadine Coyle, Lisa Scott-Lee, et al as star placed high on a nostalgic pedestal.
And, Popstars watching, Smash Hits reading bias aside, Kym does steal every scene she is in.
In her opening gambit as femme fatale Alex Forrest, she does sultry and alluring extremely well as she toys with her prey, and as the plot intensifies, she also pulls off psychotic with real panache, with a manic and at times menacing stage presence.
Kym blurs the lines of an in control, self assured temptress and a vulnerable woman with dark and deep rooted issues with the vigour and authenticity her role dictates.
I stand before you as someone who, perhaps criminally, has never seen the film version of Fatal Attraction before.
Of course I’ve seen the stills of a crazy Glenn Close about to give a defenceless bunny the flambé treatment and the many memes that have made their way into the modern day arena, but I was totally oblivious at to what twists would be in the tale as I took my seat on Tuesday night.
There’s no denying that from beginning to end the stage version of Fatal Attraction demands your attention.
The staging, whilst simplistic, is effective and the pulsating and at times frantic backdrop of beats that accompanied it, made Fatal Attraction an unnerving bit of theatre to witness.
At no point was there a chance of sitting comfortably in your seat, safe in the knowledge of what was to come.
Unfortunately for me, and I say this with a heavy heart as a big fan of both Footballers’ Wives and Coronation Street, Oliver Farnworth and Susie Amy just don’t match Kym when it comes to performance.
Oliver is in every single scene of Fatal Attraction and, while you can’t take your eyes off him as he goes through the never ending turmoil of on stage alias Dan and leaves nothing in the wings, there is something that just doesn’t quite connect.
And, for me, the script lets former Footballers Wives actress Susie down.
Twenty years ago she lit up the screen as WAG goddess Chardonnay and, while she certainly has done enough since then to avoid not being pigeon holed, it would have been great, even with the blissfully ignorant character she played, to see some of that Chardonnay drive and determination, though there flickers of it when Alex got too close for comfort as she exacted revenge on Dan for giving her the push
And, while of course the movie is set in the States, I would have no problem with the faux American accents being dropped for this stage adaptation and the action based on home soil instead.
I’ll admit, I left Fatal Attraction not entirely sure what I made of it. The final moments just came and went without having any lingering impact.
If it was Netflix series divided up into different parts I’d have no doubt been hashtagging with the best of them, telling people they might want to check it out and put it on their binge watch list.
But as a stage show, it left me wanting more. It could have been sexier and it could have been scarier.
I enjoyed the two hour flirtation but without ever being fully seduced.
Stylish, sultry and sinister…but sadly lacking in something..
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