The Band A New Musical Review

The King’s Theatre Glasgow – until 7 July

Reviewed by Linda McLaughlan

5*****

The atmosphere in the theatre was electric as the audience waited for the show to begin. Like giddy teenagers the audience consisted of a wide range of people from teenagers to older men and women who had come to listen to songs from their teenage years or just music that had touched their souls and left a lasting impression.

The story behind the show follows a group of teenage school girls who are in love with the music of their favourite boy band and dream of meeting them as they dance in their bedrooms, practising all their dance moves in the mirror and in the school corridors. Teenage Rachel (played by Faye Christall) is like many teenagers who has dreams of marrying the man of her dreams settling down and having a family. Her best friend since childhood Debbie (Rachelle Diedericks) reminds Rachel that she has to be her bridesmaid as they made a balloon promised at the age of six at a party. The girls laugh and dance and meet with their other friends at school where they find out that Debbie has won tickets in a competition to take them all to the concert that night for their favourite boy band. The friends are a mixture of different characters from Zoe (Lauren Jacobs) the sensible one who dreams of going to university and succeeding in life, Heather (Katy Clayton) who enjoys spending time with boys (lots of boys) and wants to become a clothes designer and have her own fashion range and Claire (Sarah Kate Howarth) who is the sporty one and dreams of getting to the Olympics as a swimming diver.

The show follows them through there adventures of the concert to missing the train, getting thrown of the bus and walking home. The group end up on a hill high behind their town and they make a pact after Debbie gives them all ‘A band’ from the show as a memento of they’re evening. Then everything changes after a tragic accident which sees Debbie killed in a car accident as she dances in the road into the path of a car.

This changes everything for the friends as they struggle to come to terms with the loss of their friend and go their separate ways after their friends funeral, saying some hurtful things to each other. Roll on 25 years and we are introduced to the grown up friends.Rachel (Rachel Lumberg) has moved away from her home town as a teenager after her parents split up. Rachel still loves listening to her favourite teenage boyband and dreaming of what may have been. Rachel is with a long term partner who would love to marry her but Rachel has always said no. The story continues with Rachel winning a radio competition to go and see her dream boy band in Prague and despite Jeff (Martin Miller) getting excited because they can go with friends and never mind the concert but enjoy the city sights, Rachel decided to ask her old friends who she hasn’t seen for years in the hope that they will all rekindle their lost friendship.

The entire show as the audience singing along all the way through as the boys from ‘Take Five’ keep the music flowing with the range of Take That songs which everyone sings along and dances too. A fantastic show which is mixed with highs and lows, joys and sadness and the important message about friends and their struggles to come to terms with the loss of a friend and the impact this has into adulthood. A definite must see for everyone. You won’t be disappointed.