GUYS & DOLLS, CAMBRIDGE OPERATIC SOCIETY, ARTS THEATRE CAMBRIDGE.
14th – 17th January 2026
The Arts Theatre is back after stage one of its swish revamp, and Cambridge Operatic Society is on hand with a crackerjack production of Guys & Dolls to kick the year off in style. Co-directors Helen Petrovna and David Barrett dub their cast “astonishing” and that’s putting it mildly. The four leads are sensational, the chemistry between them elevating their performances to incredible heights. Add in a brilliant ensemble, high-precision choreography inspired by Busby Berkeley’s extravagant routines, film noir pacing and a note-perfect band, and the result is a SMASH HIT. Petrovna and Barrett succeed in their stated aim of “raising the bar for what a night out in Cambridge can be”, sweeping us up “into something special – a glamorous, escapist night out, with choreography and design that echo the elegance of the old MGM sound stages”. Mission accomplished!
The four main characters are all outstanding individually but produce their best moments when together as couples. In the case of Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson (the dazzling Saskia Edwards-Korolczuk and the suave Luke Thomas, respectively), the kiss that follows the number ‘I’ll Know’ is electric. So too is the slight pause before Sarah, shocked, says: “I’m a mission girl!” For Scott Riley’s Nathan Detroit and his sweetheart, Miss Adelaide (Vikki Jones), the row over the lies Adelaide has been telling her mother about the relationship is endearing, as are the moments before ‘Adelaide’s Lament’. They just seem made for each other somehow, so we can accept that they’ve stayed engaged for fourteen years despite Nathan’s inability to quit his floating crap game and the frustration that causes Adelaide.
On top of these four superlative performances, each of the groups in the story – the gamblers, the dancing girls and the missionaries – has a strong sense of identity, thanks in no small part to the costumes. The missionaries’ crisp suits are the same red as those in the 1955 film, while the eye-catching outfits on display at the Hot Box are Berkeley-esque. The gamblers all look the part too, with the imposing Alfie Tonge (Big Jule) straight out of a film noir thriller. Nicely-Nicely blinks as he walks into the Save-a-Soul Mission, glaringly out of place. Each of the groups gels superbly, and the show’s slickness is summed up by a marvellous quick-change magic trick that takes us from velvet box to vulgar boxer-shorts in record time.
Petrovna and Barrett show that they share Sky’s intuitive understanding of ‘risk and reward’ by attempting to conjure up Havana so fully and convincingly, and the move pays off handsomely. That important ‘sense of place’ quality is strong thoughout the show, but it is at its most intense here: we can almost taste the Dulce de Leche that Sarah so enjoys. It is a kind of fever dream, with some brilliantly choreographed chaos culminating in a smashing ending, and we understand why Sarah is so intoxicated by it all that she wants to stay longer.
When Nathan first makes his bet with Sky, it seems a long shot that he’ll be able to take Sarah to Havana – but isn’t it just as unlikely that Nathan and Adelaide are still together after all this time? “I’ve often thought how wonderful he would be, if he were different!” she says, and she’s starting to think they’ll get married “on the 12th of never!” There must be something that works between them – something no amount of pop psychology can explain. Perhaps that’s why we feel so satisfied by the time this show reaches its conclusion. Before that happens, there’s time for a magnificent rendition of ‘Marry the Man Today’ by Sarah and Adelaide. Jones shows her impeccable timing while Edwards-Korolczuk excels at the art of ‘coining’ her lines as she sings them, as if she really is thinking of them in the moment. The idea of ‘marrying the man’ beguiles her – so much so that she absent-mindedly knocks her hot dog off the hot dog stand. And before that, the much-loved number ‘Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat’ is performed extremely nicely by Ash Smith and the ensemble.
Get down to the Arts Theatre and catch this stunning show while you can. I’m willing to lay plenty of 6 to 5[1] you won’t regret it!
Photos Credit: Peter Buncombe
[1] To bet heavily on something (an example of ‘Runyonese’, the slang penned by Guys and Dolls writer Damon Runyon.)
We hadn’t seen Guys n Dolls before and it was brilliant, loved every minute of it thank you all very much.
Wonderful reviews. Well done to cast and crew the musicians- and the brilliant guy on the piano!xxxx