If ever there was a show designed to make you grin like an idiot for two and a half hours straight, it’s The Producers. I first saw the original Mel Brooks film about twenty-five years ago and remember laughing my head off. I then missed the West End run with Nathan Lane, never got around to watching the movie of the musical, then missed the Menier revival… so finally getting to see it at The Garrick, back on the West End stage after a transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory, I was like a kid at Christmas (other holidays are available)!

From the outset, it’s sheer delight. The show literally opens like a golden-age Hollywood movie – spotlights, searchlights, ushers singing ‘It’s Opening Night’ – and instantly plunges you into that world of old-time Broadway glamour. That’s the magic of Mel Brooks: he takes a bonkers premise (a producer and his accountant try to make millions by deliberately creating a flop) and wraps it in layers of parody, pastiche and hilarious songs that wink constantly at Broadway’s own history.

Andy Nyman as Max Bialystock is sensational. He doesn’t just play the role – he storms the stage with the kind of showmanship that tells you he was born to bellow ‘The King of Broadway’. He’s brash, he’s Jewish, he’s larger than life, and he absolutely owns it. Opposite him, Marc Antolin’s Leo Bloom is a perfect foil – anxious, twitchy, and quietly brilliant. Their number ‘We Can Do It’ is pure, old-timey Broadway cheese of the highest quality, and you can’t help but cheer them on as they commit grand-scale embezzlement with flair and catchy tunes.

Of course, the ridiculous show they set out to produce is Springtime for Hitler – which, yes, contains more swastikas than I’ve ever seen in a theatre – and it’s gloriously camp, offensive in exactly the right way, and outrageously hilarious. Harry Morrison as Franz Liebkind, the unhinged pigeon-fancying Nazi playwright, nearly steals the show every time he opens his mouth. My favourite line of his – “Now Hitler, there was a painter. He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon… two coats!” – nearly had me falling out of my seat.

Then there’s the fabulously swishy and oh-so-hilarious Trevor Ashley as Roger De Bris, the worst director in town, who is introduced in a gown so spectacular it deserves its own separate review. Alongside him, Raj Ghatak as his ever-devoted assistant Carmen Ghia is wonderfully doting and fun. From their first number, ‘Keep It Gay’, they set the tone for the crazy, camp fun that is to come.

Joanna Woodward’s Ulla – the sexy Swede who becomes their secretary – is far more than just eye candy, as she was in the original film. Yes, she’s got the looks and the moves, but she also has some marvellous songs like ‘When You’ve Got It, Flaunt It’, where her voice is astonishing and her comedic timing is on point. Her duet with Antolin’s Bloom, ‘That Face’, is genuinely tender, and proof that this isn’t just a silly comedy – it’s a full-blooded musical with heart. Woodward nails both the comedy and the romance with style.

The ensemble are fantastic, with some dazzling costumes designed by Paul Farnsworth, and choreography by Lorin Latarro that’s packed with energy and cheek (the old ladies with Zimmer frames doing a synchronised dance routine are a stroke of genius). Tim Lutkin’s lighting makes the whole thing pop, especially with those retro bulbs framing the stage that are used very cleverly throughout. There are gags everywhere – sight jokes, callbacks, ridiculous one-liners – and not a single moment where the show takes itself at all seriously.

One special touch that I loved is Mel Brooks’ voice popping up in a cameo line, one of the most iconic from the film. It’s a tiny thing, but it was great to hear the man himself, and I hope they keep using it forever – even when Brooks is no longer with us, we’ll still hear his voice booming through the theatre.

By the time Springtime for Hitler kicks off in full technicolour, the whole audience is in stitches. It’s outrageous, it’s genius, and it proves the whole point of the show: that something designed to flop can end up being a hit, simply because it’s so ridiculously entertaining. This production is exactly that – a gloriously silly, high-camp romp through Broadway and the Third Reich, that’s as glittery as it is gut-bustingly funny. Catch it at the Garrick Theatre – but bring a needle and thread, because your sides may split!

The Producers at The Garrick Theatre is currently booking until 21 February 2026.

Book tickets now at theproducersmusical.com

Words by Nick Barr

Photos by Manuel Harlan