Are You As Nervous As I Am? – Greenwich Theatre, London

Book: Simon Spencer

Music: Leighton James House

Lyrics: Shaun McKenna

Director: Phoebe Barran

Welsh born, musically gifted Peggy is destined to become a Starr – Peggy Starr. Whether she’s performing around the pub piano as a child in front of her abusive, promiscuous single mother or headlining in Hollywood to an audience of adoring fans – she’s a natural performer. But the path to fame and success isn’t an easy one, and the struggles of staying in the spotlight get more frequent as the years go by.

Vocally, this a strong, confident show, with a fantastically cast lead. Katie Elin-Salt as Peggy Starr has an incredible voice that beautifully fits each of the songs she performs. Elin-Salt’s portrayal of the life of Starr is done well, allowing the audience to see the gentle transition from her timid yet talented beginnings, to her troubled later years experiencing domestic violence, heartbreak and alcoholism. While all of her performances are faultless, her purposefully slightly flawed drunken singing routine is impressively handled to showcase the rise and fall of a star. Equally as talented is Megan Donovan, playing a young Peggy, who, as one of three actors who play the role, manages to stun the audience with her beautiful rendition of My Mother Said, showing brilliant promise as a performer.

While the music is powerful, the storyline is underwhelming, with so much room for a stronger plot. Peggy’s narrative at points feels rushed, with too much time rehashing familiar scenes rather than expanding further. The supporting characters such as her sister Janet (Emma Thornett) and husband Bob (Bill Ward) come across like last minute additions to pad out the storyline. While Janet’s blindness, sexuality and abusive childhood are briefly touched on, they aren’t explored further past a few lines, which feels like a wasted opportunity for these interesting narrative arcs to be developed further, especially when she features heavily in the show synopsis. The lack of substance within the storyline contributes to a repetitive format throughout the show. The songs are incorporated as Peggy’s various performances, so every singing scene is executed in exactly the same manner, whereas it would flow better if some variety were included to break up the uniformity.

While the format lacks energy, the cast does a great job of trying to incorporate some passion into each scene. Spanning across 20 years and 2 different countries ,the set barely changes, with only a projection on the back wall to communicate the year and the location. It’s a good way to inform the audience of the shift in timeline, but some additional prop or backdrops from designer Kevin Jenkins would really help to again add some variety and aesthetic to what is otherwise a very stripped back, empty set.

With such a talented cast, this musical should be so much stronger that it is currently. The creative team appear to be as nervous as Peggy Starr herself, but getting the courage to think slightly outside of the box and inject some glitz, glamour and gumption to the aspects that are lacking would really help this show to stand out.

Runs until 23 October 2022