Images are from the original West End cast
The Drifters Girl opened its UK tour at Mayflower Theatre this week, showcasing the powerhouse female force that managed The Drifters, Faye Treadwell.
From the highs of hit records and sell-out tours, to the lows of legal battles and personal tragedy – The Drifters Girl charts the trailblazing efforts of the world’s first African American female music manager, and how she refused to ever give up on the group she loved.
There are only six in the cast, but what a six they are!
Carly Mercedes Dyer plays Faye Treadwell, with Jaydah Bell-Ricketts as Girl – both are passionate and won the audience’s hearts early on as we found ourselves invested in their story, willing them to win.
Miles Anthony Daley, Tarik Frimpong and Dalton Harris are stupendous as The Drifters (and other characters), but, for me Ashford Campbell, and especially his performance as Rudy, was incredible – the emotion in his portrayal was one of the best I’ve seen this year.
Considering the band has had more than 60 members over the years, it’s inevitable that the narrative skips through some of their history, but it appears to cover some of the more important bits well.
I thought the audience would be there more for the music than The Drifters Girl story, although I’m not sure they were – there was a varied range of ages throughout the theatre and plenty of toe-tapping and swaying along to some of the most famous songs in history though, including Save the Last Dance for Me, Under the Boardwalk, and Stand By Me.
So, if you’ve ever found yourself singing along to Kissin in the Back Row of the Movies, Sweets for My Sweet, and Saturday Night at the Movies – you are sure to love The Drifters Girl as much as last night’s audience did!
The Drifters Girl runs until Saturday 16 September, tickets are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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