Grand Theatre, Leeds – until 31 March 2018.
5*****
From the moment you enter the auditorium – to be greeted by the giant TV showing pages from Ceefax in 1993 – to the curtain down at the end, this show is nothing short of a phenomenon. The Band celebrates how music soundtracks our lives – and powerfully brings back memories while making plenty of new ones too. Bursting with emotion, laughter and some of the most loved pop songs ever written. Laugh out loud jokes mixed with some heart-rending and tear-jerking moments, it takes the audience on a roller-coaster of emotions from the opening scene to the very last.
Written by Tim Firth and co produced by David Pugh, Dafydd Rogers, Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams – The Band revolves around five teenagers who adore “The Band” and win tickets to a concert of their heroes. After the most perfect night of their 16 year old lives tragedy strikes and 25 years later the women meet up again after winning tickets to a concert again.
Whilst some “jukebox” musicals have songs shoehorned in and very little in the way of story, The Band is different. The music of Take That is secondary to the piece, it doesn’t drive the show and its fits perfectly into the story. Firth has woven a tight script around a simple premise of schoolgirl crushes and the pains of love and loss across a narrative that spans over 25 years. The simplicity of which means that we can really connect with the characters
It would feel wrong to single out one member of the cast for praise as they were all outstanding, all playing their parts superbly. The younger group of friends Faye Christall (Rachel), Debbie (Rachelle Diedericks), Heather (Katy Clayton), Claire (Sarah Kate Howarth) and Zoe (Lauren Jacobs) show great chemistry on stage together. The older group of Rachel Lumberg, Emily Joyce, Alison Fitzjohn and Jayne McKenna are fierce, funny and wonderful. The casting is superb with the scenes in which they appear together showing how similar they all are. Back For Good sung by the teenagers to their adult selves was particularly moving. It takes no imagination to believe they could be a younger and older version of the same person. For these are real people, totally identifiable. And you will sit looking at your 16 year old self and recognising the 40 plus year old woman you have become
To “The Band” themselves, Gary Barlow’s TV talent show, Let it Shine, found the perfect line up of boys to play the part of the productions boy band Five to Five (A J Bentley, Yazdan Qafouri, Curtis T Johns, Sario Solomon and Nick Carsberg) who perfectly fit the bill. The boys are the backing singers and musical interludes to the leading ladies, acting as cleaners, air port staff and statues amongst others to provide comedic, and sometimes more sombre, moments to the plot
We must also mention Rachel’s partner Jeff (Martin Miller) who has some fabulous one liners and Andy Williams who played Every Dave – including the bus driver, the Czech policeman, the cleaner and the caretaker, who has you laughing in every scene
Directors Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder ensure the production is as slick and sharp as possible which is helped by clever and immersive staged set-pieces with likeable attention to detail and brilliant special effects which really brought the room to life – be it in a fountain in Prague, on a hilltop outside Manchester, or in the middle of a concert. With set design by Jon Bausor, alongside a lighting design from Patrick Woodroffe. And the live on stage band John Donovan, Richard Beesley, Tim Sandiford, Stu Roberts and John McKenzie
The Band knows that most people are there to hear the music of Take That, but the music doesn’t detract from a story that wears its heart loudly and proudly on its sleeve, for this is a musical love letter that makes you laugh, cry and want to sing at the top of your lungs. With a message about the fragility of life making you ensure you live every moment as fully as possible. A nostalgic journey back in time for anyone who grew up loving a boy band
This is a show that is fun and larger than life, and you don’t have to be a Take That fan to get enjoyment from. I left the theatre completely worn out from the emotion, and made sure I told my life long trio of best friends just how much I loved them whilst trying to work out exactly when I can get to see the show again.
On tour around the UK for at least the next year I’m sure there will be plenty of chances for many more people to fall in love with this 5*, flawless, production.