Theatre Review: NOW That’s What I Call A Musical, Bristol Hippodrome
Photography by Mark Senior
Summary:
In 1989 Birmingham, two friends, Gemma and April, are living their lives to a backdrop of 80’s hits! 20 years later, their school reunion promises lots of drama and the appearance of some old flames…
Rating: ★★
Running Dates: Tuesday 1st April 2025 - Saturday 5th April 2025
Where to see it: Bristol Hippodrome
Duration: 2 hr 40 min (incl. interval)
Keywords: Sentimental, Nostalgic, 80’s
Review
A fun evening out filled with sentiment, wackiness & nostalgic 80’s tunes!
Full disclosure, I am a millennial. Born in 1988, I have lived in and experienced four different decades of music. But nothing gets me fired up like the 80’s! Synth-pop, post-disco, post-punk, new wave, hair metal, heavy metal, power-ballads, hip-hop, techno, house, electronic dance music - the 80’s gave us EVERYTHING and more! There are iconic bands, artists and songs in every genre, and 80’s music just has an unmistakable sound underpinned by synthesizers and saxophones. Above all else though, the music of the 80’s is all about having fun!
And that is exactly what “NOW That’s What I Call A Musical” has achieved - a fun-tastic evening filled with hit after hit!
I’ll admit, I was skeptical about seeing a show named after a collection of compilation albums. I mean, there isn’t much of a concept there other than good music. However, the musical has managed to capture just what these CD’s were for so many of us; a time capsule of our youth and a look back at simpler times.
The show is about Gemma and April, best friends growing up in 1980’s Birmingham. They promise to be there for each other forever, but with very different goals and aspirations, they find themselves thousands of miles apart when April heads off to Hollywood to become an actress. 20 years later at their school reunion, they reunite and are confronted with just how much distance there has been between them and how things aren’t always as good as they seem.
Photography by Mark Senior
Directed and produced by Craig Revel Horwood of Strictly Come Dancing fame, “NOW That’s What I Call A Musical” is a tale of two halves. The first half changes between past and present constantly as it tries to build the friendship of our two protagonists played by Nina Wadia/Nikita Johal (Gemma/younger Gemma) and Sam Bailey/ Maia Hawkins (April/younger April). Sets change with every scene, furniture is moved around, and the actors playing old and young versions of the characters swap in and out, sometimes occupying the same space as memories and flashbacks. It feels confused, rushed even, the pacing is off and it tries to do too much rather than letting the story settle. Even the songs feel short, many of them cut off after just a few lines and you are left wanting more.
There are moments in the first half that shine though. Young April’s (Maia Hawkins in her professional debut) solo, the scene with “Video Killed the Radio Star” feels like a fever dream but is very funny, and the video-store set felt so beautifully nostalgic it made me quite emotional. However, it just needs a bit of an edit to let the story build in a more linear fashion with just an occasional flashback and you might really have something, because this is exactly what the second half of the show does and it does it so well.
Once the second half started and it was set predominantly in the present day, the show became so much more cohesive and I was really emotionally invested in all the characters and their stories. There were some very touching moments between Gemma and April as they rekindled their friendship, as Gemma comes to terms with the state of her marriage to Tim (Chris Grahamson / younger Tim, Keiran Cooper), and it approached very relatable topics of losing people and losing yourself with softness and a tinge of humour.
There is a lot worth watching here. The four actors who play Gemma (Nina Wadia and Nikita Johal) and April (Sam Bailey and Maia Hawkins) are great and Sam Bailey’s voice has so much power and range but she holds it in the right places to compliment her fellow actors really well. Shakil Hussain who plays Gemma’s brother Frank (in the present) is fantastic and the tone of his singing voice is beautiful to listen to. Young and old Tim are great as well, a true pantomime villain that mimics real life villains scarily well and offers up a chance for the audience to participate with the occasional “boo”! By the end of the second half, I felt delighted by the show, clapping and dancing during the megamix, and being uplifted by all of the relationships the show had developed. I just felt a bit cheated that the potential was there for the first half to be as well thought out, and it wasn’t.
Overall, I would recommend the show. It’s not going to be the best thing you have ever seen but in a way it kind of perfectly encapsulates the 1980’s by being very cheesy, in a kind of fever dream state and having a whole lot of heart.
Standout Moment: : “Heart of Glass” by Blondie in a new arrangement and sung by Shakil Hussain (Gemma’s brother Frank) was simply stunning.
See If: You like 1980’s music and pure fun!
Similar Musicals: Rock of Ages, &Juliet
Last Impressions: A beautiful, nostalgic show about relationships, whose first half could do with a bit of an edit, but whose second half more than makes up for it.
You can find last minute tickets for the show on the ATG Website
We were kindly gifted these tickets in exchange for a review.
Written by Amy Evans