MK Theatre Review: Mamma Mia!

Rating: ★★★★★
Running Dates: Tuesday 13th October - 24th October 2026
Where to see it: MK Theatre
Duration: 2 hours, 35 minutes (incl. interval)

Mamma Mia! is the Queen of all feel good jukebox musicals. It’s been running continuously for an amazing 27 years in London and is currently touring around the country.

If you are one of the very few people who have not seen the movie - unusually the movie came out after the musical, rather than the other way around - then I will summarise the story briefly. The scene is a sun drenched Greek island where a young woman, Sophie, lives with her single mother, Donna, who owns a small hotel and taverna. Sophie has never known who her father is, and her mother has been the constant in her life.

When Sophie falls in love with Sky, who wants to marry her, she longingly wishes for her unknown father to be there and give her away. There’s just one problem. Donna won’t tell her who her father is. So, Sophie does what any curious daughter would do and reads her diary, only to discover there are three possible men that it could be.

Her reaction? To invite them all to her wedding, pretending that she is Donna. What could possibly go wrong?

From the beginning to the end of the show, the music, singing, costumes and scenery were amazing. It’s fair to say that some of the music had to be shoe horned into the story, perhaps a little tentatively, but you can’t have an ABBA musical without the classics.

I would like to single out the actresses who played Sophie and Donna, Hazel Baldwin and Jenn Griffin respectively, for their strong performances. Donna’s friends, Rosie and Tanya, played by Lauren Woolf and Sarah Earnshaw brought life and character to every scene. And the ensemble all danced brilliantly, but James Brice really stood out for me.

In true musical classic fashion, they saved the best for last and got the audiences on their feet with Dancing Queen and Waterloo to send us on our way home with a smile on our faces.

If you’re an ABBA fan, this is of course a must see. But it’s also a great antidote for a hard week and a fun way to escape for a few hours.

Photography by Brinkhoff Moegenburg

Disclaimer: Tickets were given in exchange for an honest review.