Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue | The King's Arms Salford

Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue, written and directed by Hywel Evans, is an original musical inspired by the hit 1990s TV series Baywatch. The musical takes place in two drastically different towns: sunny Santa Monica and Spray, a struggling seaside town in northern England.

Set in the 1990s, the story follows The Lifeguard, a mid-20s cover girl and beach beauty who faces career problems in her dream role on the award-winning Santa Monica beach. After receiving a letter from a fellow lifeguard on the other side of the Atlantic – and the bombshell news that her job is no longer hers – she takes a chance and moves across the world to try to save a team of lifeguards who desperately need help. Upon arriving in Spray, however, it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems. With complicated relationships and a beach that has been closed to the public for years, The Lifeguard begins to question whether she has made the right decision, or whether the dark underlying problems are too much for her to handle.

The musical follows two storylines in parallel: the first highlights the obsession with body image that was so prominent in the 1990s, and the second explores the corrupt nature of the lifeguard owner and the hidden secrets beneath the surface. Of the two plotlines, the second has great potential to create a thrilling and shocking outcome that the audience would not expect. Unfortunately, this is overshadowed by the body image storyline and does not leave a lasting impact by the end of the show.

Throughout the performance, original songs were cleverly woven into the script and written in a tongue-in-cheek style that gained a positive response from the audience. That said, some of the songs were written in a key that seemed outside the performers’ comfortable vocal range and, as a result, the delivery occasionally fell flat.

The musical featured a small cast of six members: The Lifeguard (Izabella Webb), Victor and Twitch (Rich Dee), Sandra (Kirsty Podlaski), Fred (Kit Rodgers), Rose (Abbie Ashall), and Denise (Natalie Hayes). Due to the small cast, many performers took on multiple roles. This was executed brilliantly by Hayes. Each character had completely different traits, and Hayes performed them all with impeccable comedic timing. On the other hand, the characters of Fred and Victor could have been developed further, which would have brought the darker storyline to the forefront and created a more dramatic talking point when leaving the theatre.

The flow and structure of the performance worked well, with a good balance between songs and dialogue. The music was well placed in each scene and helped narrate the story in a more dynamic way, although some scenes did feel overacted and lacked authenticity.

Overall, the performance received a very positive audience reaction for a first staging and the passion from both the cast and the director shone through. The venue was small and intimate, allowing the cast to interact closely with the audience, which worked especially well during the funnier scenes. This musical has great potential and could be significantly elevated if the darker storyline were brought to the forefront and the characters involved were given more opportunity to shine.

A great story always needs a strong villain – and an even stronger hero. Ultimately, Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue is a passionate performance with funny moments and an intriguing, though overshadowed, subplot that could have added real depth to the storytelling.

Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue is showing for a limited run at The King’s Arms in Salford, Manchester until Saturday 25th October 2025.

★★☆☆☆ (2*)

Tickets and More Information

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review