Reviewed by Louise Styles
‘This is the life we’ve been given… so open your mind and start living…”
Last night at the Milton Keynes Theatre I got to see The Band, a musical bought to you by renowned stage writer Tim Firth and Take That. The show is running until Saturday 9th March in MK and I urge EVERYONE to go and see it.
I’ll be honest at the start of this review… I’m somewhat invested in this production, so I’ll explain. 1990 finds little me discovering Take That and a passion that 29 years later has probably only got stronger not weaker! I’m a Thatter and I’m proud of it. So in early 2017 me and my girls were in the audience watching at four out of five of the BBC ‘Let it Shine’ live shows – we saw ‘The Band’ become a band. Having known nothing of how the production would come to life and the story it tells we knew this is a show we would absolutely be seeing. What we didn’t realise was just how much we would love it and would need to see it again!
If you aren’t a Take That fan, that’s ok! The band themselves are nameless and only provide one facet of the journey that unfolds on stage. If you spent your younger years watching Top of the Pops, pinning up posters and learning dance routines to any musical artist you’ll be able to identify with these characters. Somehow Tim, Gary, Howard, Mark and Robbie have managed to capture the essence of being a teenage girl consumed by boybands, music and life. We start 25 years ago with 5 school friends and watch their story come alive until we fast forward to the present day. The friends reunite after lives have taken them in different directions and their love for their boyband pull them back together. Throughout the show the songs of Take That are cleverly woven into the story.
Whilst the story is light-hearted and incredibly funny it touches on issues that affect us all at some point in life. It reminds us just how much music can provide solace when we need it and that friendship is so very important.
The entire cast is made up of 16 superb actresses and actors. Every single one of them gives a stellar performance. The younger girls, Faye Christall, Katy Clayton, Sarah Kate Howarth, Lauren Jacobs and Rachelle Diedericks are warm and engaging; Rachel Lumberg, Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce and Jayne McKenna are just AMAZING; AJ, Curtis, Yazdan, Sario and Harry (who has taken over the role for Nick) as the band are exactly what you want in a boyband! And special mention to Martin Miller and Andy Williams who are both wonderfully funny.
I think it’s pretty obvious to say I LOVED this show. I’ve seen it before, I saw it last night and I will be going again on Saturday before the show ends in Milton Keynes. The production is coming to the end of its UK tour, so I really do urge you to book your tickets now!
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £15 to £54.50 (plus £3.65 transaction fee).
The Band is at Milton Keynes Theatre from 5-9 March 2019, for more information or to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes or call the box office on 0844 8717652.
Milton Keynes Theatre, 500 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK9 3NZ
