Review: Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue

📍 Lower Theatre at theSpace @ Niddry Street

🗓️ 21st August 2026

🎟️ PR Invite

This show was absolutely bizarre… and I loved every minute of it!

Written, composed and directed by Hywel Evans, Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue is an absolute riot! When a lifeguard finds herself banished from a Santa Monica beach after her colleagues realise she’s not perfect after all, she must find a way to prove herself. So she sets off to the fictional English town of Spray — and the bottom of the global beach rankings. But can she whip the town into shape, navigate her life under grey skies and uncooperative locals, and convince her fellow lifeguards to change their ways?

This show is so much fun, and anyone who has seen Baywatch will instantly recognise the red swimsuits and slow-motion running. There are little nods throughout which add to the humour of the piece. The cast of five are incredibly strong, with Izabella Webb taking on the role of ‘The Lifeguard’, alongside Natalie Hayes as Denise, Abbie Ashall as Rose, Jamie Knapper as Victor and Ant McGinley as Fred. Each cast member gives their all to the performance, with incredible energy and fantastic vocals delivering the ’80s and ’90s-inspired pop-rock score to perfection. Not to mention, they each jump in and out of multiple roles and do this seamlessly.

Izabella Webb also does a fantastic job of capturing the character of ‘The Lifeguard’, particularly as we watch her go from an LA princess who initially looks down on Spray and its residents to slowly becoming more integrated into the community. You really see that change develop throughout the performance, with Izabella bringing plenty of humour to the character while also capturing the more heartfelt moments as she begins to see the town — and the people in it — differently.

There’s some really clever use of props throughout the performance, keeping in theme with the beach setting — using beach chairs and towels as props and signs, and at one point, a car. It really helps to set the scene for the show while still keeping the humour and engagement within the piece.

The plot of the show is paced really well. With 60 minutes to tell the full story, we get a really good sense of who the characters are, their personalities and the individual journeys they all go on over the course of the piece. There’s a great mix of comedy and some really lovely heartfelt moments, which balance the show well overall. The cast use the space wonderfully throughout, with group numbers and, at times, breaking the fourth wall to interact with audience members.

Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue is a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes it such an enjoyable experience. It laughs at itself — particularly about the lack of doors in the production — and invites you to laugh along with it. It was clear that the energy in the room was matching that of the cast, which made this a really great experience overall.

Hilarious, bizarre and surprisingly heartwarming, Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue was so much fun to experience, and I would happily see it again if I ever had the opportunity.

Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue continues its run at theSpace @ Niddry Street until 29 August at 19:30.