Bugsy Malone
30 December 2022
Alexandra Palace Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
In that weird period between Christmas and New Year, I headed up to Alexandra Palace for a day of theatre and ice skating!
Their ice rink is brilliant, a big indoor space to practise your slidey moves. But for this sold out holiday session, I felt like there were way too many people on the ice! There was a constant stream of people slipping and falling right in front of my feet, and after just a few rounds skating around the rink, I stepped off again. I just felt really unsafe with the amount of people on the ice constantly bumping into me and cutting me off, so noted for the future, don’t attend sold out sessions!
Usually during the year the skating sessions aren’t quite as busy and much more of a pleasure to attend, so if you want to try out ice skating, maybe grab a session during the week in a not so busy period!
We also went to see Bugsy Malone at the beautiful Alexandra Palace Theatre, a gorgeously restored place that’s perfect for musical performances.
Bugsy Malone is based on the famous movie of the same name, set in prohibition era New York. Bitter rivals Fat Sam and Dandy Dan fight over whose gang gets to dominate the business, while Sam’s girlfriend Tallulah takes centre stage in the shows at his diner. When young and beautiful Blousy enters the scene, intent on becoming a famous singer, things get more complicated.
Bugsy Malone, a one-time boxer down on his luck, falls in love with Blousey, while Tallulah aims to deduce him away from the young rival. The two gangs fight it out in flashy custard pie battles while Bugsy and Blousey plan their future.
The whole show is performed by youth performers, who had an amazing stage presence and made it a joy to watch. I did feel that Tallulah came across as more annoyingly entitled rather than seductive and enticing, though her talents as a singer are undeniable.
Overall, a really fun family show that we very much enjoyed watching.