Turbine Theatre – Summer Showtime on the Coaling Jetty – 18th September 2020
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
5*****
Released from lockdown and bouncing around the stage like excited puppies, the Barricade Boys’ night on the Coaling Jetty showed what we have been missing these past months. There has been lots of stunning and creative online content, but the buzz and joy of coming together for a live performance is unbeatable, even in the freezing wind! I’m still not sure who was the most excited – the audience or the boys!
Simon Schofield, Keiron Brown, Scott Garnham and Lee Honey-Jones are as slick as ever singing Les Mis favourites, upping the tempo with Blues Brothers, Motown and Frankie Valli medleys, as well as a gorgeous West Side Story section. Apparently there were sound issues, so they couldn’t hear themselves, and it was COLD, but the voices and harmonies were just amazing, and their version of Bohemian Rhapsody was as stunning as it is indoors.
The easy shtick between, and often during, numbers is , as ever, a joy – and after Keiron Brown’s moving rendition of Music of the Night, the toes came off and the goofing around was ramped up for a wonderful Uptown Funk disco mashup. By the time they got to the Beatles, the audience were up and dancing.
A fantastic, fun show, and a wonderful celebration of the return of live performances – and made even better by the tip to keep an eye on The Barricade Boys’ socials for dates for their socially distanced tour as they take their cracking Christmas Cabaret on the road later this year!