The Bodyguard at Southampton Mayflower Theatre starring Emily Williams and Ayden Callaghan.

ELECTRIFYINGLY and spellbinding The Bodyguard the Musical induced a well deserved standing ovation when it opened at Southampton Mayflower Theatre.

On stage until Saturday (4th November) the captivating stage adaptation combined some of Whitney Houston’s greatest musical hits with a tense and thrilling storyline.

When former Secret Service Agent turner bodyguard Frank Farmer (Ayden Callaghan) is hired to protect super star Rachel Morron (Emily Williams) each thinks they are calling the shots! However, when Rachel is confronted with the realities of a terrifying Stalker (Mike Denman) she must put her faith in Frank to protect herself and her family.

This mesmerizing musical adaption, based on the box office smash hit film of 1992 starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, was always going to be a hard act to follow but it was a fantastic, musical extravaganza with a stellar cast.

Emily Williams was outstanding as the charismatic and vulnerable Rachel Marron, with an exceptional voice that truly lived up to her film character.

Rachel is initially unhappy to have her lifestyle restricted by Frank’s commitment to protect her, but ultimately falls head over heels for him. Unfortunately things become complicated because Rachel’s sister is also in love with Frank, (unbeknown to him).

The show was a delight from start to finish with amazing performances by entire cast. A particularly special moment came when Rachel and her sister, Nicki (Emily-Mae) performing a beautiful duet, Run to You, and it very hard to judge who out of the two had the most amazing voice. Mike Denman (The Stalker) gave a very sinister performance with Rachel’s 10 year old son Fletcher giving us a taste of his brilliant dancing and singing (a star in the making). With so many famous songs amongst which, Greatest Love of All; I Wanna Dance; One Moment in Time this was an emotional rollercoaster, and an absolute must see show!

At the end of the performance we were lucky enough to be part of a standing ovation with rendition of I Wanna Dance with Somebody with everyone on their feet dancing and ‘singing’ along. We left feeling we had been part of West End Musical, one of the best shows in many of our minds that we have seen for a long time!

The Bodyguard is on stage at Southampton Mayflower Theatre until Saturday. for tickets visit https://www.mayflower.org.uk