Reviewed by Claire Turner
The Band – a new musical by Tim Firth and the music of Take That.
It’s 1993, Ceefax is on the TV showing the top 40 chart songs, the news updates and the all-important TV guide!
The show follows five 16 year old girls, Rachel, Debbie, Claire, Zoe and Heather, for who ‘The Band’ is everything to them! It was like we were back in my own bedroom with the posters on the walls, recording top of the pops on a cassette recorder and believing they were actually singing to me!
The 5 friends get the chance to see their idols in concert – but then tragedy strikes and that sets up the events for the rest of the show.
Fast forward 25 years and Rachel (played by Rachel Lumberg) wins tickets to see The Band in Prague – Jeff her partner assumes he’ll be going but all Rachel can think about is the night her and her friends were last together all those years ago.
The BBC TV show Let It Shine saw hundreds of wannabe pop star hopefuls audition to be a part of The Band: AJ, Curtis, Sario, Nick and Yazdan were the 5 winners. They certainly showed us that they deserved to win and to be on the stage singing and dancing to Take That’s top hits.
The staging was fantastic and the costumes as if Take That themselves were performing. Each act rolled seamlessly into the next and the little touches and attention to detail made it all so real.
The stars of the show – the friends (younger and older) were played by great actresses with fantastic singing voices and dance moves. Alison Fitzjohn deserves a mention for her role as older Claire – brilliant! She has it all – the voice, the humour, the dancing.
The audience joined in with the songs which included A Million Love Songs, Never Forget, Shine, The Flood and Pray. There was laughter and tears – don’t forget your tissues! The show really captured our hearts and minds – was it a show or was it real, was it about us as teenagers… and then us again 25 years later? Some parts could have certainly been about me.
I don’t think I was prepared for how brilliant this show was. If I could go back again to watch it then I would be there! It was a 5 star show. If you can get tickets then do! You won’t be disappointed.
As usual the Cliffs Pavilion is easy to get to with free parking on the sea front from 6pm. Climb the steps and you’re there. A drink in the foyer before the show is always a treat. We had great seats and an interval drink set us up for the rest of the show.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £23.50 to £57.50 (booking fees may apply).
The Band is at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend from 19-29 September 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135.
Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 7RA | 01702 351135
