NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL A MUSICAL – The Best 80’s Evening – Ever
MAYFLOWER THEATRE Southampton until 18th January 2025
Review: pHayward 14th January 2025
What an evening of absolute pleasure. Anyone that remembers the late eighties will love this show. I say ‘show’ as this is as far from being a ‘Musical’ as you can get without calling it an arena show. There is a sniff of a story, but don’t worry if you can’t follow it, as it gets lost in music and I got lost in its trap. The music is the story in every respect, as the two teenage schoolgirls, best friends, in 1989 leave school, each other and set out on building their lives.
We move forward to 2009 and a school reunion and the scene is set. The show flits backwards and forwards between the two milestones, with a few interim catch-ups. Every aspect is so cleverly worked and the incredible cast seldom have chance to pause for breath. Director and choreographer, Craig Revel Horwood, has excelled in putting a fabulous 150 minute routine together – with an adventurous musical interpretation and somehow he has assembled a cast of around 20 incredible all-round performers that can dance, act, sing and be funny – something we seldom see in musicals as there is normally a focus on one aspect.
At times I felt that it was so clever that it could be confusing. For every classmate there is a grown-up version, which works in 1989 but in 2009 it can be disturbing when you see both at the reunion, then you realise that some of them are still the former versions of themselves. Confused? Me too. But let’s not dwell on this, it doesn’t matter – as this is all about the music.
The real magician behind this show is the Musical Supervisor, Mark Crossland. He has dissected, re-arranged and brought new depths and meanings to many of the songs that we thought we knew and loved. It’s like having some of your favourite memories reborn – his interpretations are as fresh as a new spring day – and so masterly, how they are crafted into the action and the characters.
The music becomes the story and the band led by Georgia Rawlins is worthy of a recording contract on their own merit. In fact if there were any imagination left in the recording industry today, major labels would be falling over themselves to issue an original cast recording of this show. It would be a crime to lose these adaptations and interpretations when the tour completes.
For me there were two real stand out performances last night, first was Maia Hawkins making her professional debut as Young April and secondly, Nina Wadia as grown up Gemma, star of Goodness Gracious Me and Eastenders, we knew she could make us laugh as well as act, but her singing was a revelation. Last night X-Factor winner, Sam Bailey made her debut as grown up April and having seen her as a glorious Mama Morton in Chicago, she didn’t disappoint. Younger Gemma was played by Nikita Johall who has an incredible pedigree in all aspects of theatre performance.
Gemma’s love interest, Tim, Kieran Cooper is the younger one who amazed with his incredible singing prowess. In later years Chris Grahamson takes over as Tim and becomes the audiences’ villain. Much of the interim story takes place around Gemma’s home with Christopher Glover as her Dad, Poppy Tierney as her Mum and Luke Latcham as Young Frank, her Brother. Shakil Hussain steps into Luke’s shoes to portray his older self. At school the girls develop a hate relationship with Ms Dorian, the mistress, played by Lauren Hendricks. Matthew Mori plays Young Steve and is unlucky in love which doesn’t change much when he GROWS into Older Steve played by Phil Sealey and gives the audience the biggest surprise of the evening. And then there is Barney, always out of luck, but being an ultimate feel good show there is also a surprise for him before the curtain drops on the reunion’s events.
There is one more surprise with Gemma in bed, cuddled up in her ‘Sonia’ blanket, she has a dream and as her bedroom curtains gradually open – there in sparkling splendour is Sonia together with her attendants – what follows is an incredible night club performance of ‘You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You’. And credit has to go to her attendants played by Martha Pothen, Emily Barnett-Salter, Molly Cheesly, Stefanos Petri and Blake Tuke. Without these four the show couldn’t move at such a pace, they are seldom off the stage, incredible.
The impressive sets and costumes by Tom Rogers and Toots Butcher perfectly capture the locations and the periods of the show. Yet again, Ben Cracknell’s lighting works brilliantly with the sets and adds that extra touch to the atmosphere of the music. The sound design by Adam Fisher enables the musicians and performers to get the most out of every number.
Now That’s Not What I Call A Musical, but it should be Now That’s What I Call The Best 80’s Evening Ever! A fantastic night in the theatre – originality, familiarity and pure enjoyment. I think the audience agreed.
