A 1997 musical with the dubious reputation of having been produced on Broadway twice and
tanked both times, writer Bill Russell and composer Henry Krieger's
Side Show
finally arrives in the UK in the version from the 2014 revival, with additional book
by Bill Condon. Based on the story of the real-life Hilton sisters who appeared in
Tod Browning's
Freaks, it opens with conjoined twins Daisy (Louise Dearman)
and Violet (Laura Pitt-Pulford) as the star attraction in a freak show during the
Depression. The show's owner Sir (Chris Howell) is also their legal guardian for
life and essentially treats them as his property as well. When vaudeville impresario
Terry (Haydn Oakley) visits the show he spots the twins' potential as performers, as
well as the abusive situation they're in, and helps them mount a successful court
case to be liberated from Sir. He does succeed in making them stars, for a while,
and they also seem to find a chance at love, but their disability gets in the way of
both in the end.
