Reviewed by Jenny Bray
Who hasn’t heard of Take That?! So, well-known songs from one of the biggest boybands of all time incorporated in to a musical sounds like a winning combination to me. Throw some winners of a BBC search for young, male singers in to the mix and you’ve got The Band.
Before I go on, I feel like I should confess that I was never really in to Take That when I was a teenager. Although I’m the right age and they were massive back then they just weren’t my cup of tea. One of my best friends in school was and was obsessed. She loved them. They kind of grew on me as they, and I, grew up a bit and my music tastes became somewhat more eclectic. I was therefore really intrigued to find out how Take That songs had been worked in to a musical with a boyband of 5 but also with a storyline. I was more intrigued after realising that there was a musical around 10 years ago called Never Forget, that was also based around Take That but that was a flop. However, this one is fully endorsed by the current line-up of 4 and Gary Barlow teamed up with Tim Firth when he was writing it.
While we are waiting for the show to start there was a huge TV screen on the stage showing Ceefax from 9th September 1993, with all the top stories from then and the top 40 songs. When that came down at the start of the show there was a teenage girl, Rachel (Faye Christall) in her room about to watch Top of The Pops and see her favourite boy band appear. When she goes to school the next morning her and her school friends Heather (Katy Clayton), Debbie (Rachelle Diedericks), Claire (Sarah Kate Howarth) and Zoe (Lauren Jacobs) all discuss Top of the Pops and The Band. They all get to go and see The Band in Manchester when one of them (Debbie) wins 5 tickets. They then miss the last train home so have to find an alternative way back. They vow that they will forever stay friends. There is just enough storyline to allow each of the girl’s different personalities to show. However, after the show their lives are changed forever and they drift apart.
25 years later Rachel (now played by Rachel Lumberg) wins a radio show for 4 tickets to Prague to see The Band performing. Her partner Jeff (Martin Miller) wants to take a couple of friends, as one is celebrating their 40th birthday. Rachel decides to get back in touch with her school friends instead. The scene where the young versions turn in to the older versions of the same characters is funny, particularly of Claire. They are all then waiting nervously at the airport when they spot each other. Needless to say, they haven’t quite all turned out as they’d envisaged when teens.
While in Prague they act as if they are carefree teens for a while, until an unfortunate incident makes them consider that they’re not quite as young as they used to be. After the original awkwardness of all meeting up for the first time in many years they then rekindle their friendships with a very nostalgic ending.
AJ Bentley, Curtis T Johns, Sario Solomon, Nick Carsberg and Yazdan Qafouri are the 5 boys in the band called Five to Five, who were the winners of the BBC show Let It Shine. They play ‘The Band’ and perform hit after hit of Take That songs throughout the show. They initially pop up in young Rachel’s bedroom while she is obsessing about them while surrounded with memorabilia including posters and bedding with them on. They are also an integral part of the show playing, amongst other roles, airport staff and people on a bus. Their singing was smooth and perfectly performed. They had several scenes where they performed as if doing a major show with several outfit changes. At other times they’d just be in the background gently singing while the story unfolds.
They were a major part of the show. I felt that they were a little too inclusive at times and felt that a song or two less would have helped the main storyline to develop a bit better. Credit where it’s due though, that they were very slick and well-polished performers with pitch perfect voices and harmonies and all seemed equally strong singers (unlike Take That who I would, controversially say, always had one or two vocals stronger than others). I’m sure they’ll go on to do well as a group beyond the musical. They have the vocals, the looks, the image and seemed to gel really well together on stage.
All the actors were great. I liked the different aspects of the young characters being portrayed. The portrayal of Heather as the rebel teen was particularly striking. I also loved the way they had all changed when they had grown up and how it showed that the path you thought you’d follow doesn’t always turn out that way.
I loved the storyline and it made me really nostalgic about my school days and then how times have changed. There’s one line right near the start where there is fascination as to how one of the girls has managed to record the song from Top of the Pops so they can learn the dance moves. They’ve used a then ‘state of the art’ cassette player placed right by the TV to record the music!! It shows how influential music in your youth is and made me think how often I’ll have a little smile when a song plays on the radio that I remember from when I was growing up.
I’m not sure whether the storyline will be quite so moving for those in a different generation. I’m guessing the main target audience is women who have grown up with Take That being huge when they were teens, so the story will hit the spot for them as it did me.
The stage setting was clever. It began with a bedroom, then became a school with lockers. It also converted in to a stage within a stage, an airport, an aeroplane, a bus and various other scenes. This was sometimes cleverly done with projections on to screens rather than actual full prop changes. Without giving too much away; the fountain scene is funny.
This was on at the Lyceum, in Sheffield city centre. It is well signposted and there are lots of places nearby that you can park, although some parking can be quite expensive. There is a Q parks (Charles Street) where you can get the first hour free if you get a ticket from a member of the theatre staff. Within the theatre are two bars, one on each level, and a kiosk that sells sweets and ice cream as well as an area next to the box office that sells merchandise. All the staff were very welcoming and friendly.
If you’re female and were a teen in the 90s then I’d highly recommend it. If you are or were a huge fan of Take That then you’ll love the number of their songs sprinkled throughout the show. If you’re just in to feel good musicals then give it a go.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £19.50 to £49.50 (booking fees may apply).
The Band is at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield from 4-14 October 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or call the box office on 0114 249 6000.
Lyceum Theatre, Norfolk St, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 1DA | 0114 249 6000
