Edinburgh Playhouse – 28th April 2017. Reviewed by Linda McLaughlan
I arrived at Edinburgh Playhouse unsure of what to expect from the evening, would there be dancing, musical performances or a more relaxed feel to the evening. Form the very first chord I was enticed into the wonderful world of musical theatre, jazz,& rock and roll from decades ranging from 1986 to 2016.
‘Vibrant, exciting and toe-tapping’ the first three words which came to the forefront of my mind.
Edinburgh Playhouse was the perfect venue to enjoy the songs and music from some of the West End Musicals, Theatre and Film. The first musical notes from the Knights of Music Band the audience actively participated in joining in with the fantastic songs from various genres from our British musical greats.
Act 1
Philip Schofield had the audience like putty in his hands keeping everyone on the edge of their seats as they eagerly awaited the cast performing their first song from the wonderful Sir Elton John, ‘I’m still standing” and from there the show went from strength to strength.
It was impossible not to find myself singing along to music from ‘Phantom of the Opera’ produced by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber – ‘Music of the Night’ (a personal favourite of mine) to addictive tunes from the Beatles Medley ‘Hard days Night and Hey Jude’. However an addition to this years performance included the newly Knighted Sir Rod Stewart (2016), with Maggie May and Sailing which the Scottish audience fully participated and enjoyed. The first act seemed to pass quickly as everyone enjoyed the wonderful performances from the cast who were all professional West End Stars in their own right as Solo performers (Andy Coxon, Liam Doyle, Simon Schofield, Sophie Evans, Laura Tebbutt and Emily Jane Brooks.)
Act 2
This started with the guitar player from the Knights band (Lloyd Wright) getting us into the theme of the James Bond Medley and the outstanding music from Dame Shirley Bassey. Things started to get hot under the collar when Philip introduced the music from Sir Tom Jones and the cast obliged by twerking and thrusting to ‘Sex Bomb’. A couple of lucky ladies in the front row were sent into overdrive when Simon and Andy put on an up close and personal performance. The atmosphere in the theatre was electrical and the audience participated by dancing and waving their arms to the beat of the music. Another personal favourite was the music by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Sir Trevor Nunn from the ‘Les Miserables Medley’.
The pinnacle of the night however was the amazing performance from Philip Schofield when he reprised the role of Joseph, which he had performed on this very stage 19 years previously. His voice was faultless and every person in the audience was in awe of his performance, which climaxed when he adorned his ‘Technicolor Coat’.
I would recommend everyone takes the opportunity and spend the evening watching this fantastic performance, it will be an evening well spent and bring back many memories of the wonderful music and talent we have in Britain.