REVIEW: Amanda – The Night Before Me at The Bridge House Theatre 22 September – 10 October 2026
"As fringe musicals go, this is among the best." ★★★★
A woman lies in a hospital bed on the eve of gender-affirming surgery, waiting to wake up as the person she has always known herself to be. But before Amanda can finally become herself, she looks back across the life that brought her here: childhood, adolescence, first love and crushes, family, marriage, parenthood, prejudice and, eventually, courage. This is Amanda – The Night Before Me, Rory Six's solo musical making its London and English-language debut at The Bridge House Theatre, with Divina de Campo (of RuPaul's Drag Race UK fame) becoming Amanda and the fourteen other people who have shaped her life.
As fringe musicals go, this is among the best. There are some hellish catchy tunes that I must admit were swirling in my head for a good 24hrs after the final bow. For me, the marker of a genuinely good musical is whether you’d choose to listen to its soundtrack. Well, suffice it to say, I've already looked for it.
Now, all that said, it's not without its flaws. I feel this is a five star production that only just scrapes a four.
We're greeted upon entry with Timo Verse's large and impressive set, though it's strangely reminiscent of angel wings, which is a bit cheesy and narcissistic. The music is good enough that a simple hospital bed would have been more than enough, maybe much more powerful. As it is, the heavenly clam-cum-chrysalis slightly overcrowds the space and undermines the substance of the piece. It isn't needed in my view; they've gone with a fair strategy of having the show star-led, so let de Campo shine instead.
There's a fantastic lighting package from Stephanie Afleck though, even if it is occasionally a bit flat or on-the-nose in its creativity, and flawless sound from Birgit Plank too, from start to finish.
De Campo is good, with natural charm and comic timing. Hats off to them, they give it their absolute all, playing as if to a full West End auditorium, but without overpowering us. The role could maybe benefit from a stronger character actor to juggle the 14 versatile parts, as there are moments where it's not clear for longer than is comfortable who is speaking. But it's a good stab nonetheless and does pretty much always click into place thanks to the great direction and choreography from Six and Jerôme Knols.
A decent Act I finale takes us into a slightly rushed second half that seems to race through Amanda's adulthood in half the time it took over her adolescence, as though Six suddenly got very bored and thought the job was done. This is ironic as it was in many ways the most nuanced and interesting part of her life: we end up learning nothing about the relationship between her identity and her role as a dad; no real sense of the altered family dynamics; nor any examination of the impact on the long and loving marriage with her wife. Instead we have quick-fire caricatures that shun her out of toilets, sack her from her job, and direct her to the male changing rooms, which wipes away any depth it might otherwise have had in favour of a blunt and awkward "message" that possibly does a disservice to itself. There's truth in it, but superficiality is for TikTok, theatre needs shading. With a bit more of it, there'd be five stars waiting here.
I think this is a common thread. For all the great songs and brilliant lyrics, Amanda remains quite two-dimensional. We see her discovering make-up and dresses, but never really go any deeper. It feels a bit reductive and I wanted more from her. I felt she had more to give.
It is undeniably an accomplished musical overall. I would say much of that is down to the work of musical theatre veteran, Charles Hart (perhaps most famous for The Phantom of the Opera), whose lyrics are one of the best things about the whole show. Despite a few bum lines, he does a mind-bogglingly brilliant job of rendering songs originally in German into something highly legible, poetic, and natural, as though they were always made for English. Not a cringe in sight.
One of the problems though is that it's also pretty expensive. It is worth it, and that's not a quality issue, just an observation. At £35 a pop, you're talking the best part of a hundred quid for two. Throw in a couple of drinks and you've got yourself a big night out. The show's production values are good, but that's steep for a small (however perfectly formed) pub theatre and unfairly pits it against much larger productions. At that price, you're only attracting an audience of de Campo fans – and no minds need changing or informing there. It locks out the very people who may benefit most from seeing this kind of story – everyone.
Amanda finishes up hoping she'll at last be able to see herself reflected truly in the mirror. I have a feeling if she allowed the audience in a little closer, in depth and accessibility, they'd see she was always already there.
Amanda – The Night Before Me
Written by Rory Six & Charles Hart
Directed by Rory Six & Jerôme Knols
Music by Rory Six
English Lyrics by Charles Hart
Musical Direction by Bettina Bogdany
Orchestration & Musical Supervision by Perrin Manzer Allen
Choreography by Jerôme Knols
Produced by Theatercouch
The Bridge House Theatre, 22 September – 10 October 2026
Box Office:
https://thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/amanda-the-night-before-me/
Photography Credit Andreas Hofmarcher
Reviewed by Alix Owen
Alix Owen is a Pushcart Prize nominated writer from Wales. His work has appeared at the Liars’ League, the Camden Fringe, and in print and digital anthologies internationally.
