MRS DOUBTFIRE – Shaftesbury Theatre ⭐️⭐️

Date of Visit – February 2025

Mrs Doubtfire is a musical that sounds good on paper, but in actuality, although there’s good elements of humour, it’s very forgettable, and here’s why…

BEFORE THE SHOW:

Before today’s performance, I stayed in the Ambassadors Bloomsbury, located near Regent’s Park and a twenty minute walk to Tottenham Court Road tube station and around a thirty five minute walk to the shaftesbury theatre.

This room was around £55 for the night using my Expedia one key cash credit, as room rates usually start from around £100.

I’d definitely recommend this hotel for a more luxurious London stay, hotel rooms are equipped with a coffee machine and the hotel has premium facilities such as a gym.

SYNOPSIS:

‘MRS DOUBTFIRE THE MUSICAL‘ is based off the 1993 movie of the same name which itself is based off the 1987 novel; Madame Doubtfire.

The story follows Father of three and voice actor Daniel, who goes through a divorce with his wife Miranda. However, to get to see his children more than once a week, he goes undercover as their Scottish nanny named Mrs Doubtfire.

Mrs Doubtfire is a classic 90s film starring the legendary Robin Williams. However, unlike the film, the musical isn’t set in the 90s but set in the modern day, with modern pop culture references throughout.

THEATRE EXPERIENCE:

I arrived at the Shaftesbury Theatre around thirty minutes before the performance, and it was a smooth entry. However, be aware, as I did originally have an issue with loading up my tickets from my email. So make sure you do this before you arrive.

Once I arrived, I ordered a water, cider, and tub of salted popcorn, which cost me £13.50, I think this is really good value for a West End theatre.

Bar area in the Grand Circle is fairly large with tables and seating. This theatre also has a much larger selection of snacks, including sausage rolls and wraps, which is a nice change from the usual ice cream and chocolate.

I didn’t buy a programme for this production and didn’t see the price list, so can’t comment on the pricing of this.

The theatre is decorated throughout with posters of past productions that have played at the Shaftesbury Theatre, including Rock of Ages, & Juliet and Carousel.

SHOW REVIEW:

This was my second time seeing ‘MRS DOUBTFIRE‘, and although it was better than the last time, it was still awful.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some good elements in this show. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have got at least two stars.

However, I feel that this musical could be so much better. I look at similar musical adaptations of films when I say this, like Back to the Future, both these films have comedy and an upbeat vibe. This is kept throughout the musical adaptation of Back to the Future.

However, in Mrs Doubtfire, the musical is rammed with emotional ballads, which I think is a little odd, as well as this the musical is not set in the same time period as the move (1990’s) so instead modern day references are made, for example Donald Trump and Taylor Swift.

Elements of the story have also been changed, such as Mrs Doubtfire using Siri to find a meal recipe and Miranda finding a nanny via emailing the Nanny agency rather than sending out an advert. This feels odd again and disjointed when Mrs Doubtfire later dances with a 90s-style vacuum cleaner just like in the movie.

I also didn’t like the fact that a key aspect of Daniel’s personality was changed from the original 90s film. With him being sacked from the voice acting job due to messing around as opposed to in the film when he is sacked due to not wanting to do a child friendly funny voiceover for a cigarette advert.

This change just conveys Daniel as being childish and irresponsible and that he isn’t thinking about providing for his family. When the opposite is conveyed in the movie where Daniel doesn’t want his children or other American kids interested in the concept of smoking.

When reflecting back on the music, although there are sad moments showing how divorce can affect both children and adults. I don’t think this musical really needed a plethora of sad songs, but maybe just one or two to convey this.

A musical that’s marketed as being fun and upbeat ends up feeling overly emotional and depressing.

Songs also feel like they’ve been placed in the most random moments, with the characters randomly singing where I think more dialogue would be better suited and the same issue happens when characters are talking in certain moments that feel like it should instead be a song. It makes the whole thing again feel disjointed and that they’ve picked the wrong moments in the story to be musical numbers.

During this musical, there is only one song that is memorable, with that being ‘Make me a woman’ where Daniel’s brother and his brother in law transform him into Mrs Doubtfire. This song is one of the only ones that’s upbeat and comical, elements which I believe should have been in almost all of the other songs.

The famous song from the original film ‘Looks like a lady’ also doesn’t make an appearance in this musical adaptation, which is disappointing.

Now on to the positives, Gabriel Vick, who plays Daniel Hillard and Mrs Doubtfire, is the stand-out performer in this production. His comedic timing, audience interaction, and, most importantly, voice impressions are outstanding. He doesn’t just try to be a carbon copy of the late Robin Williams but instead plays the character in his own right.

Gabriel Vick is an amazing impressionist, doing a plethora of voices throughout the performance, including Donald Trump, Paddington Bear, Kermit the Frog, Billy Connolley, Prince Harry and many more. These are all fantasic and strongly convey how much of an amazing performer Gabriel is.

The set, staging, and costuming for this production are also good, with Gabriel being able to change so freely between being Daniel and then Mrs Doubtfire. I do also like that we get to see this happen on stage on a number of occasions.

The set of the house I also believe is done well, with it being able to completely move forwards and backwards, almost folding up towards the back when we need more space at the front of the stage.

I paid £57.50 for my ticket in the Grand Circle, and it was good value for the view. However, it wasn’t good value for the overall quality of the production.

Mrs Doubtfire is closing in the West End on saturday, so you’ve still got a few more days to see it. Although if you want my advice, save your money and go see something else.