New Wimbledon Theatre – until 27 October 2018
Reviewed by Catherine Françoise
5*****
I went to The Band with a fair degree of trepidation. Another juke box musical plus a tribute band discovered via a reality TV show could be a recipe for disaster and there were definitely mixed reviews of the 2017 tour. All trepidation was swept aside by a fab show full of heart, great singing and some nuanced fine acting. Fine writing from Tim Firth who previously collaborated on The Girls with Gary Barlow, The Band is great fun and extremely well staged and directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder.
Whoever dreamed up aiming a show at middle aged women reminiscing about their teenage years Take That band crush deserves a medal for marketing genius. Wimbledon Theatre was packed to the rafters and an audience of all ages spanning many decades, including a surprising number of men also, absolutely loved it. Much ‘buzz’ in the interval and as everyone left the theatre. The story line is simple and told in real time and flashbacks to the 90s. Five 16 year old girls mad about their boy band win a competition to see the group in Manchester. A tragedy changes their lives forever but twenty five years later they meet up again after one of them again wins tickets for a Take That reunion concert in Prague. Tim Firth’s writing is both laugh aloud hilarious but also poignant and nuanced, dealing with growing older and grappling with the loss of dreams, devastating grief and the complexities nostalgia throws up.
It is the female characters who carry the story and Rachel Lumberg, Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce and Jayne McKenna are strong, feisty and very funny! Their younger counterparts Faye Christall, Katy Clayton, Rachelle Diedricks, Sarah Kate Howarth and Lauren Jacobs also do a great job, as does Martin Miller as Rachel’s long term partner and Andy Williams who is hilarious as several different cameo characters and billed as Every Dave in the programme. There are no weak links in this cast. It could have been incredibly cheesy and sentimental but they manage to keep it grounded and real whilst also being entertaining and slightly mad at times! So well directed ~ slick and sharp! Very well done indeed!
The musical numbers are wonderful of course and the five winners of the BBC’s reality TV casting show Let It Shine ~ A J Bentley, Harry Brown, Curtis T Johns, Yazdan Oafouri & Sario Solomon do great justice to the original songs. They sing and dance with energy, style and precision and there is some great choreography from Kim Gavin. Lyrics cleverly convey the thoughts of the girls as they grapple with life, and a few of the songs are sung by the girls rather than the boys which adds an extra dimension and freshness to lyrics. There are also a few unexpected and poignant moments where the girls interwove their stories as the band sang softly in the background. The 5 musicians accompanying The Band also deserve mention ~ Superb playing from all! They are mostly hidden from view but it’s great to see them on stage occasionally and I particularly enjoyed Tim Sandiford’s wonderful guitar playing. Four of the five original members of 1990s boy band Take That are billed as co-producers of The Band and they have done their legacy proud! The Band is a fabulous, funny, feel-good show wonderfully sung and acted! Highly Recommended!