Legally Blonde

★★★★☆     Courtroom Diva

Edinburgh Playhouse: Tue 29 Sep – Sat 03 Oct 2026
Review by Sophie Good

Amber Davies shimmies her way into Harvard Law School as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, which drops into the Playhouse this week on an impressively high octane and entertaining national tour.

Directed by the Curve’s artistic director Nikolai Foster, this new staging of the popular musical, based on the definitively early noughties film which launched Reese Witherspoon into fame, is a tale of realising what you want isn’t necessarily what you need.

Amber Davies and Sprout. Pic: Matt Crockett.

Featuring music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach, Legally Blonde is part silly pastiche, part rousing feminist tale – and 100% fluffy pink musical extravaganza.

Pretty-in-pink sorority princess Elle Woods (Amber Davies) is anticipating a proposal from long standing beau Warner (played with oafish charm by Jamie Chatterton) but is sadly disappointed to find she’s not serious enough. Instead, Warner dumps Elle’s blonde ‘Marilyn’ and goes off to Harvard in search of his ‘Jackie’.

At which point Elle decides to apply her underused IQ to pass the entrance exam and follow him there, all the while supported by her gal pals from Delta Nu – Margot (Hannah Lowther who alternates as Elle at midweek matinees), Serena (Rosanna Harris) and Pilar (Remi Ferdinand).

spectacular set pieces

They are a fantastic all-singing all-dancing trio who who are highly entertaining – especially in their Greek chorus line up when, visible only to Elle, they offer her not-so-sage advice and provide some moments of comic relief.

Indeed, Leah Hill deserves special mention for the way her choreography brings together some spectacular set pieces. In particular the Act 2 opener, Whipped Into Shape, with an athletic Jocasta Almgill as Brooke who skips her way through an impressive vocal.

Amber Davies with Hannah Lowther, Rosanna Harris, Remi Ferdinand, Aaron Shales, Daisy Twells, Raiaz Fisher, Lauren Hampton And Alishia-Marie Blake. Pic: Matt Crockett.

The story gets far more interesting in that second half when Elle really finds her talent as a lawyer-in-training and finally focusses on something other than winning back her man. Her friendship with the quirky Paulette (some amazing gospel like vocals from Karen Mavundukure) is a likeable side plot, including Paulette’s hilarious love story with hunky delivery boy Kyle (the suave Ty-Reece Stewart).

George Crawford is charming and likeable as Elle’s classmate Emmett, using his chip on his shoulder to fight to the top against the privileged classes in the hallowed halls of Harvard – and helping Elle to bust her own myths along the way. Annabelle Terry is equally enjoyable as the snobby Vivienne who also discovers her own integrity.

demanding role

Davies, being just about 5”2, does almost the entire show in stilettos including the dance numbers, (‘what, like it’s hard’?). She appears as a slightly diminutive figure on stage at time and, although she is never quite overpowered by the ensemble, she doesn’t always have the stage presence that some performers can command.

It’s a demanding role; Davies is in almost all of the numbers and is rarely off stage. If there’s any remarks on her otherwise impressive performance it’s that her energy levels dip a little in the first half when she gives the impression of a somewhat fragile and needy Elle – something fans of the film might not be accustomed to.

Jocasta Almgill with Hannah Lowther Rosanna Harris, Remi Ferdinand, Aaron Shales, Daisy Twells and Raiaz Fisher. Pic: Matt Crockett.

That said, Davies absolutely flaunts her acting and singing chops for the title number, Legally Blonde, in which she decides that she might just head back home after an unpleasant set back. This moving part of the show is far more emotionally impactful than anything you’d expect from the piece.

Legally Blonde is, after all, an unapologetically camp, fluffy and fun piece of musical theatre. The ensemble give it everything, and Davies is certainly enjoyable to watch. She will no doubt go down a treat when the tour hits the London Coliseum in March 2027

Our young reviewer loved the show from start to finish. Its fast pace, which rarely lingers on anything for more than a moment, feels well suited to younger audiences.

Sprout and Milo

Not to forget the true stars of the show, whose lack of height or sparkly pink outfits detract nothing from their star presence: Sprout, who plays Elle’s Chihuahua Bruiser and Milo who plays Paulette’s English Bulldog, Rufus. Bringing the biggest cheers of the night, they are unfailingly charming at every turn and woof.

Legally Blonde is a show that delivers good bang for your buck – it’s got all the high impact singing and dancing set pieces you’d expect alongside some excellent comedic moments, a feminist character arc and two actual live dogs. There’s nothing to object to here.

Running time: Two hour and 20 minutes (including one interval).
Edinburgh Playhouse, ADDRESS.
Tue 29 Sept – Sat 3 Oct 2026.
Evenings: 7.30pm, Thur, Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.

George Crawford and Amber Davies. Pic Matt Crockett

ENDS

Tags: Amber Davies, Annabelle Terry, George Crawford, Hannah Lowther, Heather Hach, Jamie Chatterton, Jocasta Almgill, Karen Mavundukure, Laurence O’Keefe, Leah Hill, Legally Blonde, Musicals, Nell Benjamin, Nikolai Foster, Playhouse, Remi Ferdinand, Review, Rosanna Harris, Sophie Good, Ty-Reece Stewart