Review: The Bodyguard

08-06-2026 at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford by Stuart Clarkson

It’s been on the stage since 2012 but this was the first time I’d seen the musical adaptation of the 1992 film The Bodyguard – a blockbuster success that spawned several hit singles for Whitney Houston including I Have Nothing, Run To You, I’m Every Woman, Queen of the Night and of course I Will Always Love You.

These all feature in the stage musical – alongside other Whitney classics such as One Moment In Time, How Will I Know, I Wanna Dance With Somebody and more.

At times, the show feels like a pop concert rather than a musical – and with Beverley Knight and Alexandra Burke among the previous stars to play Rachel Marron you can see why the show has developed that way. I guess it’s really a jukebox musical of Whitney’s hits but without the songs being crowbarred in to fit the storyline as can often happen. Instead they’re mainly performed by Rachel or her sister Nicki as if being performed on a stage or rehearsal room to fit around the dialogue, which includes many of the famous lines from the movie as you’d expect.

Sidone Smith leads the cast on the current UK tour as Rachel – but at press night in Bradford this week we were treated to a show-stopping performance by the company’s alternate Rachel, Mireia Mambo. Her vocals were flawless right from the first note and she oozed star quality throughout every number. The role comes with enormous expectations, but Mambo possesses both the vocal power and stage presence needed to command every moment. Whether delivering the high-energy spectacle of Queen of the Night or the emotional vulnerability of Run to You, she captivated the audience throughout.

Opposite her Adam Garcia brought a calm authority to Frank Farmer, making the role his own, creating a believable chemistry with Rachel and grounding the show’s more extravagant moments. The only disappointment was to see a leading musical theatre star in a lead role that had no singing part (apart from a comedic karaoke performance – it’s really tricky for a good singer to sing badly and Garcia absolutely nailed this!). I would have at least liked to see Garcia take a few lines in the finale, though I guess that would have broken the illusion of his character being a non-singer.

Sasha Monique shines too as Nicki, the only other main singing role in the show, with a standout performance of Saving All My Love For You.

While the leading performances are excellent, one of the evening’s most memorable contributions came from young actor Adam Bartlett as Fletcher. It’s easy for the role of Rachel’s son to become little more than a plot device, but this remarkable young man gave Fletcher real personality, warmth and authenticity. Every appearance felt natural and completely believable, and he displayed incredible confidence. He was one of the standout natural dancers in a talented company and has a sweet singing voice, as well as delivering all of his speaking lines perfectly. For such a young performer, it was an impressively assured performance and one that drew deserved appreciation from the audience. He has a long career in theatre and music ahead of him, I’m sure.

The real star of The Bodyguard is undoubtedly the extraordinary Whitney back-catalogue. The songs are performed with such confidence and quality that they never feel like karaoke versions. Yes, the plot occasionally feels secondary to the concert-style atmosphere, but this production knows exactly what it is – a big, glossy, crowd-pleasing night at the theatre. And at the Bradford Alhambra it received the standing ovation it thoroughly deserved.

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