Mean Girls – Bord Gáis Energy Theatre – Review

MEAN GIRLS – Produced by Crossroads Live UK
Dates: 25th August – 5th September

Cady Heron (Emily Lane) is a 16-year-old girl who has been homeschooled for the past 12 years, living in Kenya with her mother. When she arrives at North Shore High School in Illinois, she finds herself the ultimate fish out of water in a complicated world of cliques, popularity and social hierarchies. Two fellow outcasts, Janis (Georgie Buckland) and Damian (Max Gill), take her under their wing, attempting to guide her through the unwritten rules of high-school society. It is not long before Cady encounters the Plastics, the apex predators at the very top of the social food chain, led by the formidable Regina George (Vivian Panka).

The story was originally brought to the screen in 2004, starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, with a screenplay by Tina Fey. Its next incarnation was as a musical, with a book by Fey, which premiered at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., in 2017. That stage production was subsequently adapted for the screen in 2024, once again under the simple title Mean Girls. It would be fair to say that audiences still cannot get enough of the story, judging by the enthusiastic turnout on opening night. The production at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre is, of course, the 2017 musical, although it would be fascinating to know where the members of the predominantly female audience first encountered the story, particularly given the broad spread of ages in attendance.

The production also comes with a touch of star power, with Faye Tozer of pop group Steps clearly relishing the opportunity to take on three roles: the effortlessly cool Mrs George, Cady’s mother Mrs Heron, and Ms Norbury, the teacher originally played by Tina Fey in the 2004 film. Tozer brings plenty of energy and comic timing to each character, making the most of the opportunity to switch between three distinctly different personalities.

The songs are perhaps the one element that slightly lets the production down. There is no number that has escaped the confines of the musical to become a mainstream classic in its own right. That said, there are several memorable tracks, including “World Burn”, “I’d Rather Be Me” and “Apex Predator”, which provide plenty of energy and help propel the story forward.

The real highlight, however, is the comedy. The production is packed with quips, one-liners and sharply observed moments, many of which are delivered at such speed that the audience is barely given time to recover before the next punchline arrives. Some of the humour comes directly from the original film, while other jokes have been updated for the modern age, with references to smartphones, social media and even Ozempic.

Yet beneath the comedy and musical numbers, Mean Girls remains remarkably relevant. More than 20 years after the original film, its exploration of teenage identity, popularity, insecurity and the desire to fit in still resonates. We watch as Cady attempts to navigate the treacherous social landscape of high school, gradually becoming embroiled in the very power games she once observed from the outside. Her ascent up the slippery ladder of popularity is fuelled by manipulation, rivalry and shifting power dynamics, until she begins to realise that reaching the top of the social hierarchy may come at a far greater cost than she anticipated. It shows that high school can be a battlefield, and being the most popular person in the room is rarely as important as it seems.