THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Dominion Theatre (11/06/25)

New Elton John musical feels more charity shop than high end fashion

To be perfectly frank, the fashion industry is perhaps the most superficial entity on planet earth, you only have to look at any magazine spread, social media feed or fashion week photoshoot to make said summation. That said though, at least the industry itself has any sort of personality about it, and even the most die hard fashionista would have trouble coming to any other conclusion than the new Elton John, Sahina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick work "The Devil Wears Prada", based on the 2006 film of the same name (and 2003 book on which the film is also based), being so lacking in substance that it might as well be a beige tracksuit.

For the benefit of the uninitiated, The Devil Wears Prada tells the story of recent university graduate and budding journalist Andy, and her quest to be taken seriously in any capacity as a writer, so what else should she do but apply for a job as a second assistant to Miranda Priestly, the domineering and intimidating editor-in-chief for Runway magazine, this in spite of knowing next to nothing about the fashion industry. What ensues is a half baked story that essentially removes any remnants of depth of character Andy may have had (limited as they initially present), tears them up and leaves them by the wayside, leaving us with what is essentially reverse character development from a charming, slightly goofy young girl into a shallow, insubstantial, albeit driven young woman.

Vanessa Williams, Matt Henry and the company of The Devil Wears Prada (credit: Matt Crockett)

There were definite positives to be drawn, especially when it comes to the visual aspects, Tim Hatley's impressive, gargantuan set design and the gorgeously ornate costumes by Gregg Barnes are the absolute stars of this show. Additionally it was wonderful to see such original choreography by director Jerry Mitchell, and this was executed with fabulous gay abandon by a supremely talented ensemble.

Also worth highlighting was that, in spite of the questionable nature of the writing, it has to be said the cast, for the most part, were all pretty terrific, Georgie Buckland managed to somehow make the character of Andy somewhat likeable, with her natural charm and strong vocals, and Matt Henry as Nigel was a perpetual treat. Unfortunately this is where the positives come to an abrupt end, as in spite of the considerable star power brought to the table by Vanessa Williams, her portrayal of Miranda falls short of the domineering, at times frightening quality associated with the editor of Runway; if Meryl Streep was a black panther, sleek but intimidating, Williams' portrayal more resembled a disgruntled house cat.

Even putting aside all of this, a major critique of this piece is that so much about it is just mind-numbingly shallow, and inane at times, with everything from Andy and her boyfriend singing about how they love each other for their appearance, to the perpetuation of the ideology that dressing well is the key to getting ahead, the show's inherent superficiality is so enervating that it's difficult to enjoy oneself. And the score by John, Taub and Sonnenblick wasn't enough to drag one out of the narrative doldrums we found ourselves, as there was no new ground being broken, and many of the songs felt so entirely synonymous with one another that they were rather difficult to tell apart.

Georgie Buckand and Amy Di Bartolomeo (credit: Matt Crockett)

And then we come to the sound itself, now it is unclear as to whether this is on the venue or the company, however this is not the first time I have attended a performance at the Dominion Theatre and experienced particularly awful sound mixing. It is understandable that a large venue would, in theory, benefit from higher levels of volume, however in practice, over the years, this has just resulted in unnecessary excess and a disappointing sound balance as a consequence. Lighting design by Bruno Poet was similarly excessive, and hugely garish, which also adversely affected the experience.

I wish I could tell you that The Devil Wears Prada was a flashy, fabulous, full on fashion-fest that will leave you wanting more, but rather what I experienced instead was an irksome, audibly and visually excessive mess of a show that made me feel like I was in a cheap London nightclub rather than a top end fashion show, not even celeb casting could save this one.

★★☆☆☆

"The Devil Wears Prada" plays at the Dominion Theatre, with tickets on sale from the production's official website.