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★★★
In celebration of 40 years of NOW That’s What I Call Music! compilations, a new jukebox musical is touring the UK and Ireland from Autumn 2024 to Spring 2025. Titled ‘NOW That’s What I Call A Musical’, comedian Pippa Evans has penned the book and Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood has directed and choreographed the musical journey back to the eighties and a time of video stores, big hairstyles, hours of fun at the local pub and many dreams for the future. The company is led by actress/comedian Nina Wadia and musical theatre performer Melissa Jacques, who bring the focal characters of Gemma and April to life. Set in 1989 and 2009, the production focuses on the friends at two pivotal moments in their lives: finishing school aged 18 on the brink of change and 20 years later, weighed down by the realities of adulthood and reflecting on the nostalgia of their school days. The show is actually based at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury this week and I had the opportunity to review the production in its opening month on tour.
About the show
The pop genre and narrative about growing up is comparable to ‘Greatest Days: The Take That musical’, where a group of friends reunite many years after leaving school. Despite being similar in musical style, ‘NOW That’s What I Call A Musical’ is bolder and more daring in its humour, instead choosing to focus on one friendship and the impact of growing up. As a piece of theatre it is light-hearted, camp and does not take itself too seriously, even hosting a guest star in the second act, which at performances in Canterbury is actually the legendary Sinitta. Younger Gemma (Nikita Johal) and April (Maia Hawkins) are separated by distance after the latter heads to Hollywood to become an actress and we learn the impact of them living on other sides of the world over approximately 2 hours 30 minutes of theatre.
Comedy value
Highlights of the production are Pippa’s hilarious script and the comedy performances. I am slightly younger than the target audience, but I enjoyed the fun personalities on stage and the references to growing up in the iconic decade. The material is over-the-top and zany, from the humorous choreography and era-appropriate costume design (Tom Rogers and Toots Butcher) to the unique way that lyrics are brought into the dialogue (Spandau Ballet’s ‘Gold’). ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ and ‘Mickey’ are two very creatively choreographed routines, which you can’t help but smile at. Throughout the performance it is clear that the creative team’s utmost priority is to provide audiences with a good time, and it was evident that this goal was achieved in the auditorium last night, with the reactions to the one-liners.
Sound quality and music
For all of the high energy and excitement, it is the sound and musical elements which let the production down. In the upbeat and techno-pop numbers, the balancing affects how much you can hear the vocals, with an example being the overpowering of Melissa Jacques and Nina Wadia’s singing in ‘Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves’. Whilst I understand that the creative team want to create a lively and celebratory atmosphere, there needs to be an element of restraint in the amplification of the band, or alternatively more attention given to the levels of the microphones, to ensure that the show resembles a musical which prioritises the singing and it is not just back to back renditions of popular tunes. With some more thought to the overall musical production value, this side of the show could compete with the strength of the comedy, but the audio lacks finesse in this current iteration. That being said, Melissa’s opening lines of the Eurythmics song are sensational and the softer tracks are far more enjoyable. It left me wishing that there were more opportunities for the performers to shine vocally across the entire song list.
A feel-good musical comedy
There is no denying that ‘NOW That’s What I Call A Musical’ is a really amusing piece of theatre. There are some truly laugh-out-loud moments, which disguise the lack of impact and depth in the material and allow audiences to truly escape for a few hours. Spectators will be coming to see the NOW musical for a hilarious throwback to the eighties, featuring memorable hits and plenty of nostalgia and the production certainly ticks these boxes. In some ways unfiltered and eccentric, it is this criteria that makes the show stand out in the saturated genre of jukebox musicals. Last minute tickets to the production’s run in Canterbury can be purchased via the theatre’s website, with performances running until Saturday 21st September.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
*My ticket for ‘NOW That’s What I Call A Musical’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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