Book: Shaun Kitchener
Director: Rachel Kavanaugh
Formed in 1997, British pop band Steps soon had listeners do-si-do-ing to ‘5, 6, 7, 8’ and a generation of teens mimicking the moves to ‘Tragedy.’ Yet, this new production resists the temptation to be another jukebox musical about the band’s history, instead using their iconic hits as the score for a heart-warming story that puts love at its core.
Here & Now throws us into ‘Better Best Bargains’, a seaside supermarket and riff on those recognisable shops where you can get anything and everything, where shop worker Caz (Lara Denning) is caught at a crossroads, facing an impending 50th birthday, the sudden collapse of her marriage and a desire to adopt. Surrounded by her small group of friends Vel (Rosemary Annabella Nkrumah), Neeta (Rosie Singha) and Robbie (Blake Patrick Anderson), Caz decrees that by her birthday, all four will embrace their true ‘Summer of Love’ (one of many neat nods to Steps’ hits).
As musical plots go, it is pretty standard. Caz quickly finds herself in jeopardy, the shop eventually comes under threat, managed by the brilliantly incompetent and sex-mad Patricia (a superb and underused Sally Ann Matthews), and it is all underpinned by a blend of cohesive inclusions of Steps’ songs, with some pushing the shoehorning to its limit. That said, it is an easy night out and one that is incredibly easy to get swept up in the colour and charm of it all.
As Caz, Denning is a terrific lead performer, carrying much of the plot on her shoulders while also rarely pausing before launching into yet another solo. This is an impressive vocal display, but also a character that requires more versatility than you might expect, with Caz’s desire to adopt fuelled by losing her son Jack after he ‘was born sleeping’. It is an interesting layering to Caz’s character that provides some clarity as to her motives later on, but the decision to build her backstory in this way is, tonally, a bit of a whiplash and feels out of place in a show that otherwise jumps and jives along.
Meanwhile, Nkrumah’s Vel provides a neat contrast to Caz’s worries with calming advice, while chronically nervous Neeta (a fun and energetic Rosie Singha) brings to the fore that anxious teenage crush that probably many audience members had, with Steps’ songs as backdrops, too. Yet much of the subplot is fuelled by Anderson’s depiction of Robbie, open in his sexuality but deflecting his father’s abandonment with casual hookups, and by Robbie’s burgeoning relationship with drag artist Jem (River Medway). This is a neat and sweet sideplot that reiterates the musical’s look at acceptance and inclusion, in a way that suits the overly flamboyant rest of the piece.
Despite its bold, loud, cast and equally booming collection of Steps’ greatest hits, the production largely comes together to great success. The shelves of the supermarket, part of an expansive design by Tom Rogers, quickly throw us into the setting but are quickly changeable to shift locations seamlessly. In addition, the music is largely organically positioned into Shaun Kitchener’s book, though the ‘Half-Price Hoedown’ is a brilliantly barmy excuse for some ‘5, 6, 7, 8’ line dancing.
Here & Now succeeds in bringing to the fore a feel-good feeling and a sense of community spirit and the strength of human bonds and affection in a way that does not overcomplicate but instead bubbles along with terrific energy. It is a fun, silly and charming new musical, belting out hit after hit, spearheaded by a terrific ensemble cast.
Runs until 16 May 2026
