New Wimbledon Theatre – until Saturday 12th April 2025
Reviewed by Brooke Burlinge
4****
Wimbledon Theatre brings you the brand new musical Now That’s What I Call A Musical. An endearing and fabulously vibrant production to celebrate the 40 years of the iconic ‘NOW That’s What I Call Music!’ compilation series. A new show at the theatre is always a little sceptical, a hit or miss you could say. This one I can confidently say was a hit. Despite the script and acting falling a little flat at times, and the acts dragging on a little longer than needed, the music managed to uplift the whole ambience and atmosphere once again. Some of the dance sequences and parts of the show were not necessary for the plot, however it did provide a certain campness and flare to the musical- something that constantly had the audience engrossed into the performance.
The musical takes place in Birmingham, flashing back and forth between 1989 and 2009, where we follow the friendship and lives of younger Gemma (Nikita Johal) and April (Maia Hawkins) in 1989, following up to the dreaded school reunion in 2009, where old friends get together, old flames are possibly rekindled and Gemma (Nina Wadia) finally gets to see April (Sam Bailey) after 10 years of no contact…
The whole of the cast was truly magnificent, and they all managed to bring each song to life perfectly, I can certainly say as part of the audience that I was in raptures from beginning to end with the variety of songs and fantastic choreography to match them. Both Nina Wadia and Nikita Johal played Gemma amazingly, Nina’s acting had so much depth and was beautiful to watch on stage. Nikita’s vocals were beautiful, and she really captured Gemma’s character. Sam Bailey, as always, sang superbly and dare I say had the audience awe struck at her clear and strong vocals. Maia Hawkins as younger April certainly had an outstanding stage presence, you couldn’t help but look at her whenever she was on stage, what an incredible performance debut to have. All the other characters were great in the performance, for example Tim (Chris Grahamson) and younger Tim (Kieran Cooper) despite being the ‘villian’ of the show provided a tremendous amount of humour and some fabulousness every time he was on stage. The heartwarming and lovable Frank (Shakil Hussain) and younger Frank (Luke Latchman) is another great mention, providing a happy and bubbly atmosphere to the stage. How could I forget the wonderful guest star- Sonia. She came out and had her moment, the audience absolutely loved it.
Overall, it is certainly a musical to see if you want to see something fresh and new- although a little slow at times the music is fully worth it. Alongside the phenomenal atmosphere and nostalgia, the production brings for many.