Mean Girls 💋

The Alhambra Theatre.

When I say I am a Mean Girls fan, I mean an original 2004, Lindsay Lohan Mean Girls fan.

I can recite the film, I can sing the songs and I’ve even read the book! My poor husband has had to listen to “On Wednesdays we wear pink”, “You can’t sit with us” and “That’s why her hair is so big, it’s full of secrets” more times than he would probably care to remember.

And with Mean Girls Day on the 3rd of October having only just passed, the timing really could not have been better.

So fetch.

I headed to the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford to see Mean Girls The Musical. A huge thank you to Philippa and the team at Bradford Theatres for the press invite.

As someone who knows the 2004 film inside out, I was always going to go into this with high expectations. Mean Girls The Musical feels like the younger, louder and much more energetic sister of the film I grew up loving. All the characters, humour and Mean Girls moments are there, but it has its own personality too.

The story follows Cady Heron (Emily Lane), who has grown up in Kenya and been home-schooled before suddenly finding herself thrown into the very different world of North Shore High.

She soon meets Janis (Georgie Buckland) and Damian (Max Gill), who attempt to guide her through the complicated rules of high school. Then come The Plastics: Gretchen Wieners (Kiara Dario), Karen Smith (Sophie Pourret) and, of course, Regina George (Vivian Panka).

Before long, Cady finds herself drawn into Regina’s world and discovers that surviving high school might be more difficult than anything she experienced growing up in Africa.

Emily Lane is great as Cady and really captures that change from someone completely unfamiliar with high school life to someone who becomes increasingly caught up in it. She also has a fantastic voice and carries so much of the show without ever making Cady feel like a copy of Lindsay Lohan’s version of the character.

Vivian Panka has exactly the presence you need from Regina George. From the moment she appears, you immediately understand why everyone at North Shore is either desperate to be her or terrified of getting on the wrong side of her.

Kiara Dario and Sophie Pourret are also brilliant as Gretchen and Karen. Gretchen’s desperation to remain part of Regina’s inner circle comes through really well, while Karen delivers some of the funniest moments of the night.

But Janis and Damian were definitely two of my favourites. Georgie Buckland and Max Gill work so well together and bring so much humour and personality to the show. Their friendship feels completely natural and some of the biggest laughs of the evening came from the pair of them.

Faye Tozer also takes on three very different roles as Mrs Heron, Ms Norbury and Mrs George, and manages to make each one feel completely separate. Naturally, Mrs George is where she gets to have the most fun. She is not a regular mom, she’s a cool mom, after all.

The music was another highlight for me. The soundtrack is fun, energetic and fits the whole feel of the show perfectly.

Meet the Plastics is a brilliant introduction to Regina, Gretchen and Karen, immediately setting out their personalities and exactly where they sit within the North Shore hierarchy. Revenge Party was another favourite, full of energy, humour and exactly the kind of chaos I wanted from Mean Girls.

I really enjoyed hearing these characters tell such a familiar story through music. Having known the film for more than twenty years, the songs give certain scenes and characters something completely different while still keeping everything that makes Mean Girls so recognisable.

The whole production is colourful, quick and full of energy. There is always something happening on stage and the choreography keeps everything moving at a pace that suits the story perfectly.

And, of course... there is plenty of pink.

One of the things I loved most was seeing all those moments I know so well brought to life in a completely different way. There are enough references and familiar lines to keep long-time fans very happy, but it never feels like everyone is simply trying to recreate the film on stage.

More than twenty years after Mean Girls first arrived on our screens, it is quite impressive how much of that still feels relevant. For an OG Mean Girls fan, this was exactly the kind of night I wanted. Funny, nostalgic, energetic and packed with all the characters I have loved quoting since 2004.

And yes, I came home wanting to watch the film all over again.

That is so fetch.

Mean Girls The Musical is at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford from the 5th to the 10th of October 2026. You can purchase tickets here.