Fabulous Fun: Now That's What I Call A Musical

The formula is a winner - a massive dose of 80s nostalgia with equally enormous dance numbers and a school reunion. Let the party begin!

Compiled by award winning author, Pippa Evans, and directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, Now That's What I Call A Musical is well worth a trip down memory lane.

The musical’s playlist is pure gold – who does not love Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Tainted Love, Hey Mickey, Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves? - and that is just for starters.

A particular highlight is a space themed, high-octane extravaganza of chart-topping Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles.

The lively atmosphere at the Palace Pub in Birmingham is the scene setter for a school reunion in 2009 where apprehensive former pupils include Frank and his sister Gemma who is hoping against hope her childhood best friend April will show up.

With all the expected ingredients of a school reunion – who made it and who did not, who aged well and who did not, and who ended up with who, the production fuses the present with flashbacks to glory days of crazy escapades.

I connected with the girls’ obsession with pop music, giggle at their corny jokes and endless chat about boys and sing along with knockout numbers from an iconic decade.

As the musical plays out, promises are broken and hopes and dreams are made, shattered and reborn. The themes are tinged with wistfulness, happiness, and tears and we feel sad for the characters when, like real life, things do not work out as planned.

Everyone can relate to them - the aspiring actress, the wannabe mother with a brood of children, the cheating husband and the would-be entrepreneur who consistently makes bad investments.

The production is set against the backdrop of the Thatcher era where yuppies were in abundance and making money was the mantra. A transformative period in the history of British music, anything felt possible.

Stand out performers are Nina Wadia as Gemma, Melissa Jaques as April, Nikita Johal as the younger Gemma and Maia Hawkins as the younger April.

Shakil Hussain as Frank and Luke Latchman as the younger Frank also deliver strong performances and we loved to hate Kieran Cooper and Chris Grahamson as the slimy, womanizing younger and older Tim.

Throughout the production tour, an 80s guest star appears in a cameo role. This time chart-topping singer Sonia, who represented the UK in the 1993 Eurovision song contest, was singing to, and comforting, a bereft Gemma.

The dialogue was more entertaining than planned as fluffed lines were handled magnificently and with hilarity – endearing the characters even more to the audience.

Colourful costumes and a feel-good factor transported us all into our unique reveries of the formative role the 80s played in our lives.

The score? A delightful 7 darling.

NOW That’s What I Call A Musical plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal until Saturday, 12 Oct 2024. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.

For additional UK venues including Bradford, visit NOW That's What I Call A Musical! | 2024 Tour Dates & Tickets (musicalsontour.co.uk)