Writer: Pippa Evans
Director: Craig Revel Horwood
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Tired Tribute“
3 / 5
Dust off your Walkman and get ready to go back in time for this jukebox musical packed with eighties classics, nostalgic references and a sprinkling of star-studded guest stars.
It’s 2009 – Gemma (Nina Wadia/Nikita Johal) is at her school reunion, dreading bumping into her old peers from the class of ’89 and having to admit that life isn’t completely what she had expected. She dreamt of having children with a loving husband and a career as a nurse, but after struggling to get pregnant, and feeling stuck in her relationship with cheating husband Tim (Chris Grahamson/ Kieran Cooper), joining the NHS is the only thing that seemed to have worked out for her. Her best friend April (Sam Bailey/Maia Hawkins) wanted fame and fortune, jetting off to Hollywood as soon as school was over to pursue a career in acting, scoring a role on a sitcom and leaving Birmingham behind for good. The pair, though once thick as thieves, drifted apart and lost touch, with Gemma praying that April makes an unexpected appearance at the reunion to rekindle old times.
As with any jukebox musical, a high level of cheese is not only expected, but encouraged, and this show shines when it leans into the cliches and forces in another musical number out of nowhere. Though, there are a lot of unexpected moments where it goes a little bit serious, sucking the fun and silliness out in a manner that doesn’t quite fit the rest of the narrative. Focusing on two timelines – 1989 and 2009, the flashbacks and reminiscing is a great way to tell the story of the two friends and how their lives have panned out since their teenage years. But it’s impossible to root for the pair at the heart of the storyline when April is written so poorly – how are audiences supposed to champion their supposedly ‘tight-knit’ friendship, when April is such an awful person?! Her narcissistic personality is at times comedic, but for the most part, she’s quite a draining character (at no fault of Bailey or Hawkins), who makes every moment about her, makes unfathomable comments about Gemma’s inability to fall pregnant, doesn’t show up to the wedding, hasn’t checked in with Gemma for 20 years and finally keeps the father of her child in the dark so he misses her upbringing – but hey, let’s all sing ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ and forget about it all shall we?!
Some dodgy imitations of the Birmingham accent aside, the cast do a good job of throwing themselves into the storyline and giving their all during the musical numbers. Nina Wadia and Nikita Johal both allow their character to be endearingly likeable, and Sam Bailey’s vocals are fantastically performed, but unexpectedly stealing the show with their fantastic comedic timing are Kieran Cooper, Chris Grahamson and Callum Tempest (Barney), who are all excellent at playing their characters and extracting the humour from the script.
Considering choreographer Craig Revel Horwood is so outspoken on Strictly, you would expect the dance routines to be a resounding ten – but instead each routine is repetitive and uninspired, more like watching a group of mums on the dancefloor than a large-scale, professional production! Although this could be done ironically or to appeal to the target audience, it isn’t very interesting to watch, and the copy & paste routines start to bore quite early on. The flash dance scene is the only one that feels fully fleshed out, and does a fantastic job of injecting the high-energy and fun that’s needed to engage. The highlight of the show is undoubtably the fantastic set and costume design from Tom Rogers and Toots Butcher. Eye-catching and seamlessly interchangeable, each of the constantly moving sets are bold and bright, with fun little details, such as the video rental shop being called Planet of the Tapes, added in. The costumes are brilliantly fitting for the era, and big, unexpected additions burst through at various points, such as the spandex Gold numbers during ‘Gold’ and the music video-esque staging during ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’, adding oomph to liven up the production.
Eighties music fans won’t be disappointed by the jam-packed playlist, and guest stars such as Sonia, Sinitta and Carol Decker making an appearance in the final scenes prove to be a hit for the audience. While most of the show is a bit of a tired tribute, the megamix is fun, lively and enjoyable, which helps to rouse the crowd and finish with a bang.
Runs until 12th April 2025
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