⭐⭐⭐.5

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is a show I desperately wanted to love. A show that promised to empower women, to shine a spotlight on women who changed the course of history, a show that was promised to appease to ‘Six’ lovers.

Based on the series on books with the same title by Kate Pankhurst, it aims to highlight that women can change the world and have proven to be a part of something bigger, something important, and something worthwhile. Whether it’s a happy ending, or a sad ending, the course of history was still changed because these women took a stand. Beside, well-behaved women rarely make history.

The show opens with a group of teachers whistling and bustling through the audience telling us, the year 7s, to settle down and get ready to leave the museum. We’re then introduced to an anxious and withdrawn girl, named Jade played by Georgia Grant-Anderson, who gets separated from the trip and finds herself in the ‘fantastically great women’ closed exhibition where she will be introduced to a range of women who changed the world.

I feel this show needs to be marketed as a show for the older range of primary school children. I don’t think adults are the target audience, and although I saw elements of Six in some of the song style, it didn’t give me the same impact. I feel sometimes the storyline was not deep enough, and sometimes I felt that it was an attempt to tick a box, and trivialise some of the issues highlighted.

I did find some elements of the show tedious, there were some out-of-time punches and at one point a breaking of character to have a giggle at the moustache which felt amateur. Summer Priest, especially as Frida Kahlo and Marie Curie, and Leah Vassel as Mary Seacole and Rosa Parks though absolutely stole the show for me, The Rosa Parks scene was a massive highlight to the show and the part I feel made the most impact. Equally, I thoroughly enjoyed the colour explosion in Frida Kahlo’s scene, enjoying both the prop use, the track, the movement, and the message that Kahlo conveyed around body positivity and self-expression through art.

Costume and set design is a massive pull to this show, designed by Joanna Scotcher, it smoothly blends historical feeling to a new modern-day outfit. Fitting that these women do some killer choreography, by Dannielle Rhimes Lecointe paired with a modern-day soundtrack (Chris Bush and Miranda Cooper on lyrics and Miranda Cooper and Jennifer Decilveo on music), complete with rapping to appeal to its younger audiences. It’s a bright and vibrant show designed to appeal to its family audience.

I didn’t gain much love for the songs, but I did enjoy the “Fantastically Great” song and do think it is reminiscent of Kidz Bop so there could be some young children out there that would love to bop around to it.

It’s a surface-level celebration of women, and I think seeing it under that lens will give a much more realistic and positive expectation of the show. Expect an explosion of colour, expect a crash course in some of the world’s greatest women, and expect a little side story from Jade too. I did find this part possibly the most tedious of the show. I see it was trying to relate back to children, but it felt awkward at times, and unnecessary dialogue such as ‘my aunt also had cancer’ in response to the work that Marie Curie did. I don’t know what it is about it, maybe I just didn’t relate to the character so didn’t see the necessity to relate back to Jade’s aunt. I perhaps would’ve liked to see a teacher and then her mum maybe who had changed her world too to relate back to her story and show that great women changed the world, but also convey the message further that everyone changes the world by being in it.

I really love theatre based on history, but I think for this one, I’m just not the target audience. It’s a fast-paced show with vibrant costumes and plenty of energy. But, the ‘burn the patriarchy’ just didn’t hit the right note for me. I did, however, see many young girls who needed to hear these stories, needed the message conveyed to them, and needed to see what they could do. I think this is a show that has a great deal of potential though to really become something incredible.

The musical didn’t change the world for me, but I think it’s one that will bring empowerment to the right set of young girls.

On at Nottingham Theatre Royal until 16th March