Pulling off a musical in the upstairs theatre of a pub was always going to be an ambitious undertaking. Thus my trip to see Bye Bye Birdie was one filled with apprehension, only further compounded upon seeing the 15-strong cast list. Sadly my fears were justified: while there are moments of impressive cohesion, overall director James Hume’s production feels constrained by its performance space, making it feel cluttered and chaotic.

Bye Bye Birdie, staged in a traditional diner designed by Andrew Yon, is a satire of American society in 1958. It follows music manager Albert Peterson (Ryan Forde Iosco) as he tries to navigate the shock of Conrad Birdie (Zac Hamilton) being drafted into the army. Rose Alvarez (Liberty Buckland), Albert’s lovesick assistant, contrives one final publicity stunt where Birdie will kiss goodbye fan-girl Kim MacAfee of Sweet Apple, Ohio (Abigail Matthews) on The Ed Sullivan Show. While originally inspired by Elvis Presley being drafted into the army in 1957, arguably the teen-fandom trend is still largely relevant today. Perhaps a quick YouTube search of a Justin Bieber concert may have been enlightening? However, this was ignored and the gaggle of fan-girls simply screamed. A lot.

Sitting on the front row I somehow found I was getting in the way of the actors. Indeed, during one of the more vigorous dance numbers during the second act, I was actually kicked in the foot – certainly a new experience, and not one I am eager to have repeated. During ‘Telephone Hour’ it felt as if I had placed myself in the middle of Oxford Circus on a Saturday afternoon. This is surprising considering choreographer Anthony Whiteman’s extensive experience in fringe theatre.

It would have been a far tidier performance had the cast been reduced by half. Indeed the vocals are very strong all round: Matthews shines as the doe-eyed Kim MacAfee, as does Buckland as the seductive Rose. However, it is the Macafee family unit whose scenes I most enjoyed. Harry Hart is truly hilarious as the volatile Harry Macafee, complemented brilliantly by Stephanie Lysé as his wife Doris. Their rendition of ‘Hymn for A Sunday Evening’ is the pinnacle of the evening, with flashes of superb harmony.

Sadly, while the Macafee family dynamic sizzle, the chemistry between Albert and Rose seems to be non-existent. Furthermore, Hamilton’s portrayal of Conrad Birdie is aiming for bad boy charm, yet all he really achieves is shy boy-next-door. Indeed, the production as a whole needs more fine-tuning; in particular, more work is needed in ironing out the issues with the dance routines, and occasionally the band drowns out the actors’ performances.

Perhaps the moral of the story is that musicals of such scale will only work with ample performance space and really tight direction. While there are strong vocals and some impressive individual performances, as a whole Bye Bye Birdie is a disjointed production.

Bye Bye Birdie is playing at Ye Old Rose and Crown until 4 September. For more information and tickets, see the Ye Olde Rose and Crown theatre pub website. Photo: David Ovenden.