Carrie Hope Fletcher - An Open Book Review

Writer: Bethany Hill

You know those evenings where you see an old friend with a good cup of tea and a cosy blanket and just feel utterly content? My recent trip to see Carrie Hope Fletcher’s one woman show at Venue Cymru in Llandudno felt just like that. I have followed Carrie for the last ten years from the hopeful YouTube days, through Les Mis, Chitty, the Addams Family and Heathers just to name a few, so I knew that this was a show that I enjoyed. What thrilled me was that it was a show that my entire family, including my 60-year-old father, absolutely loved.

Photo by Danny Kaan.

The premise of Carrie’s show was that the audience was taken inside her brain to decide the stories that she wanted to tell. Each story came with a song and thus we were taken on a journey through Carrie’s professional and at times personal life fuelled by the greatest of show tunes. We were able to hear some of her most well-known roles reprised from Eponine to Veronica Sawyer whilst also hearing songs that Carrie had never performed before like Grease’s ‘There are Worst Things I Could Do’. This was made all the more thrilling by the element of choice. The audience of each show voted for which stories were told at certain points in the show and as such each new audience receives a bespoke show with slightly different songs. My favourites included her rendition of ‘Stars’ from Les Mis, a cover of McFly’s ‘Bubble Wrap’ and ‘The Inevitable’ from the recent concert production of Treason the musical.

The set design is well worth a mention. The stage is set like the inside of Carrie’s mind, filled with books, a cosy blanket and sofa and I instantly felt at home before the show even begun.

Photo by Danny Kaan

Carrie’s vocals were, unsurprisingly, exceptional and her band brought equal talent and wonderful new arrangements of songs we know and love. A special shout out must also be given to Trinity, the three-piece Irish support act that opened the show. Their renditions of ‘From Now On’ and ‘Go The Distance’ had me in tears right from the evening’s beginning.

I could go on and on about how wonderful Carrie’s show and stage presence was. The comedy and story telling she brought had the audience captive and by the finishing notes of ‘The Life I Never Led’ from Sister Act at the show’s closing, there was not a dry eye in the house. I would love to see another of Carrie’s shows and see just what other audiences have in store but I know that whatever that is, they are in for a treat. Catch Carrie on the remainder of her tour by visiting https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/carrie-hope-fletcher-tickets/artist/5374096
 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photo by Danny Kaan