The Bodyguard
★★★☆☆ Power packed
Edinburgh Playhouse: Mon 18 – Sat 23 May 2026
Review by Sophie Good
The Bodyguard, the power ballad-packed musical based on the smash hit film and flaunting its Whitney Houston hits, launches into the Playhouse this week with, quite literally, a bang.
Pyrotechnics flare as superstar singer Rachel Marron storms onstage, belting out Queen of the Night, backed by an ensemble of dancers. The recreation of the gig atmosphere from one of Rachel’s shows is a suitably high-octane, high stakes opener to the production which is, itself, high-octane and high stakes.
Sidonie Smith and ensemble. Pic: Paul Coltas.
The Bodyguard musical, much like the 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, follows Rachel Marron (Sidonie Smith) as she becomes the target of an increasingly dangerous stalker. Former Secret Service agent Frank Farmer (Adam Garcia) is brought in to protect her, only for professional boundaries to blur into romance.
The plot of Alexander Dinelaris’ book remains an undeniably thin one and at times the emotional stakes of the storyline feel underplayed. James-Lee Harris is genuinely terrifying as the Stalker, but director Thea Sharrock lets it all move on from his actions rather too quickly to keep the narrative going.
This is a jukebox musical at heart, however. Weaving the songs into the narrative allows it to feature far more of Houston’s impressive back catalogue than the original movie. All told, it works through 16 of her best known hits, from Where Do Broken Hearts Go to that belter of all goodbye songs, penned by Dolly Parton but made legendary by Whitney: I Will Always Love You.
protective hero
Adam Garcia as the protective hero is an established presence in West End musicals. Here, playing a non-singing ‘straight’ role, his terrible attempt at karaoke would only hit the right (wrong) note if you already know he is a very capable vocalist.
Garcia’s performance feels a little small and underplayed for the role; he lacks the authority to make Frank Farmer believable; and, most importantly, he and Smith fail to ignite the romantic chemistry central to the impact of the piece.
Sidonie Smith and Adam Garcia. Pic: Paul Coltas.
Smith takes on the formidable role of Rachel Marron, stepping into the shoes of Whitney ‘The Voice’ Houston with true musical theatre capability. Smith wisely avoids impersonation, instead bringing her own vocal range to those much-loved numbers such as I Have Nothing and Run To You.
Given her musical theatre background, Smith’s acting skills are unsurprisingly strong at the high drama moments, but don’t always carry her through the quieter scenes. Whether she has the stage presence to carry off the gig theatre moments and superstar diva persona needed to drive the performances, is debatable. She is enjoyable nonetheless.
Sasha Monique provides strong support as Rachel’s sister Nicki Marron. Nicki’s character is one of the parts which diverge from the film’s plot. It’s a much bigger role and the love triangle with Frank and Rachel is one of the more emotionally impactful parts of the story. Monique’s voice is one of the highlights of the show, showing an accomplished singer and actor who is really going places.
authentic
Fletcher, Rachel’s son, is key to caring about what happens to the family. Mason Dyett (rotating with Phoenix Beharry, Adam Bartlett and Ebrahim Joof) delivers this really well, creating an authentic relationship with Rachel and Frank that develops over the piece.
Tim Hatley’s set and costumes and Mark Henderson’s lighting for the gig scenes are adequately glaring and full-on; but can be quite drab and dated in the ‘at home’ scenes. The staging occasionally leans heavily into melodrama during the stalker sequences. Worse, the cringe-worthy projections of Garcia’s face during I Will Always Love You detract from the emotional heft of the moment.
A good jukebox musical should weave greatest hits into the plot and deliver some emotional meaning into the narrative using the songs. The Bodyguard delivers adequately on this front and Whitney fans will enjoy seeing the classics brought to life by a capable cast and ensemble. It’s perhaps just lacking some of the impact that it might have had.
Running time: Two hours and 20 minutes (including one interval).
Playhouse, 18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA.
Monday 18 – Saturday 23 May 2026
Mon – Sat: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Glasgow King’s Theatre, 297 Bath St, Glasgow G2 4JN
Monday 25 – Saturday 30 May 2026
Mon – Sat: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Sidonie Smith, Adam Garcia and Cast. Pic: Paul Coltas.
ENDS
