Now That’s What I Call a Musical
Newcastle Theatre Royal – 8th October 2024
Invited| Review by Stephen Stokoe
If you love a romcom against a soundtrack of cheesy 80s classics then this Craig Revel Horwood directed and Pippa Evans penned jukebox musical will be right up your street.
The action opens on the night of a school reunion but the time line travels back to when the girls, Gemma and April were young and just wanted to have fun to the present day. It is a nifty premise and allows the younger and older versions of the girls to occasionally break their timelines and admonish their counterparts for what they have become or look on in despair at some of the choice they have made.
Both the young girls have very clear ideas about what they want from life. The down to earth and level headed Gemma (Nina Wadia (Nikita Johal (younger)) aspires to become a nurse, get married and have six kids. Flighty, sassy and outgoing, April (Melissa Jacques (Maia Hawkins (younger)) on the other hand has desired to become famous, crack America and make her fortune as an actress in Hollywood.
The girls at school are joined at the proverbial hip and vow to each other that they will remain together forever and never to part no matter the distance that may be between them. Throw into the mix a suitor, hell bent on winning the affections of big hearted Gemma, a brother (Shakil Hussain and Luke Latchman (younger)) who has a crush on April and parents (Poppy Tierney and Christopher Glover) who never tire of telling their kids how they met, a love rat husband (Chris Grahamson (Keiran Cooper (younger)), and I dare say we have ticked off every cliché from an 80s rom com quite nicely.


The set is a thing of technical brilliance and really sets the tone for the production. It effortlessly changes from the pub in which the reunion is taking place, to Gemma home where the two siblings dream of their lives ahead, through a cocktail bar, and Gemma’s future husband’s flat. The design causes some directorial issues which are skilfully and seamlessly carried out by the cast. Horwood’s direction is sublime in this regard. This is how scene changes should happen. All the characters maintain their characters and you barely notice the changes. They are great fun and you can tell the cast are very clear what they have to do but enjoy their tasks enormously.
This is where the charm of this production lies. It certainly does not take itself seriously. There are no underlying messages that have not been told countless times before so if you just sit back and enjoy the banging soundtrack of 80s classics (orchestrated, supervised and arranged expertly by Mark Crossland) then you are going to have a smashing night at Now That’s What I Call a Musical.




The lighting design is also remarkable until you read the programme and see the name of Ben Cracknell who never fails to impress with ingenious use of lamps and LX wizardry. The sound is in the very safe hands of Adam Fisher. Cracknell and Fisher are both renowned for their work nationally and internationally.
The band led by Georgia Rawlins is superb and entirely in-keeping with the nature of the piece but I always find it a little disappointing not to see the band or orchestra to give them their well deserved round of applause. So well done Georgia (musical director and keys 1) and your terrific band of Asst MD, keys and guitar, Alex Cawley, drums, Bob Carr, lead guitar, Nick Hill and bass guitar, Simon Kennard.
A sub-plot in the narrative is around the girls’ love of the music of the time with a star vehicle for a number of 80s songstress to make an appearance in a dream sequence to advise the now despondent Gemma. In Newcastle, this is elegantly provided by Sonia who performs one of her best known hits to rapturous applause.
There are some amazing vocals in this production and some wonderful performances but my star of the show only gets a cameo appearance as the older and younger, somewhat jaded teacher, Ms Dorian (Lauren Hendricks) who was quite wonderful. The entire cast should be very proud of a tireless performance this evening with lots of laughs, great singing and a fun and feel-good performance that the audience laps up from the opening to the inevitable mega-mix at the end.
Now That’s What I Call a Musical plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal until Saturday 12th October.
Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on
0191 232 7010.