Music and Lyrics: Take That
Book: Tim Firth
Directors: Stacey Haynes and Tim Firth
This celebration of the music of Take That receives a rapturous welcome from an enthusiastic opening night Leeds audience at the Grand. Filled with show-stopping tunes, boundless energy, energetic choreography, dazzling light and colour and glorious sound (some of it very loud but never intrusive), the show delivers two hours of sparkling entertainment in a feel-good story involving five lifelong friends who are all utterly obsessed with The Boys – to you and me and everyone else aka Take That but never referred to as such throughout. In this sense the musical follows the tradition of others such as Mamma Mia in that the music is used as the background to the story rather than being the subject itself.
The vehicle for the action concerns Rachel, Debbie, Heather, Claire and Zoe as their younger and present (older) selves as they examine their obsession with The Band and their relationships with each other. I’m sure that their experiences of growing up with the music and obsessing about their heartthrobs will have resonated with many members of the audience. The first half concentrates mainly on the younger selves and the second their older counterparts although there is some overlap. This all works very seamlessly and effectively, aided by a simple two tier stage construction that allows for easy staging. Set designer Lucy Osbourne has done a wonderful job in creating a design that easily transforms into different locations such as a school locker room, an airport departure lounge, a theatre back stage, a police holding cell and a Greek statue-laden setting in Athens whilst simultaneously retaining the facility to incorporate the members of The Band.
The character of Rachel (played by star name Kym Marsh) is really the glue who holds it all together, although it could be argued that it’s really Debbie (Mary Moore) who does this – to say more would be telling. Rachel’s is the only character of whom you see more of her background story with her husband Jeff (Christopher D. Hunt) also playing a role and it is Rachel who opens the show. An added interesting aspect is that Rachel’s younger self is played by Kym Marsh’s real life daughter Emilie Cunliffe.
Of course any show celebrating the music of Take That ultimately depends on the members of the boy band playing them and in this instance the Company has a gem of a collection who do full justice to the sounds, harmonies and movements of the iconic rockstars. Kalifa Burton, Jamie Corner, Archie Durrant, Regan Gascoigne and Alexanda O’Reilly all deserve credit for an incredible performance full of verve, skill and artistry that has the audience clapping and toe-tapping and thoroughly entertained. It is no exaggeration to say that they hold their own to their original counterparts in terms of quality and delivery. In total there are eighteen songs to enjoy.
This show obviously celebrates the music and legacy of Take That but it is really about the dreams and aspirations we all have in our lives. Are our childhood ambitions ever realised or do we settle for what life has to offer and make the best of it? Is it ever too late to achieve that goal and do we really say what we mean to those who are dearest to us? These themes are explored and given poignant treatment in what is a glorious night’s entertainment at the theatre.
Runs until 25th November 2023
