(AD – PRESS NIGHT) GREATEST DAYS THE MUSICAL HULL REVIEW
HULL NEW THEATRE
TUESDAY 31ST OCTOBER @ 7.30PM
*** 3/5
A Tuesday night at the theatre will never go amiss for me so this week, I headed back to Hull New Theatre to see a new-ish musical, Greatest Days. As you all know, I don’t mind jukebox musicals but they have to have a decent story to work. Here’s my Greatest Days the Musical Hull review.
PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS
So this show used to be called The Band. Since the movie was released, it’s been rebranded as Greatest Days. I originally saw the show in its first UK tour run and I really enjoyed it. The five members of the band were obviously a highlight, purely because I watched Let It Shine, the reality TV show to find the five members to imitate Take That. However, I had read some of the reviews for this new tour and it seems to have lost some of that shine!
THE CAST
Whilst it might have previously been called The Band, the story actually follows the girls. We see a group of girls twenty-five years apart when they have a reunion to celebrate The Band. The younger cast is so full of energy and you really believe in their connection as a friendship group. Olivia Hallett (Young Rachel), Hannah Brown (Young Zoe), Kitty Harris (Young Heather), Mari McGinlay (Young Claire), and Mary Moore (Debbie) each have their own personalities but they click when on stage together. In fact, you’ll probably relate to one of them, whether you were a sporty teen or a nerdy teen.
After tragedy happens, the group of five is just a foursome as they make their way to adulthood. Jennifer Ellison stars as Rachel, the glue that holds the group together. She’s the main character as we see what has happened in those 25 years since they last spoke. When reconnecting with Rachel Marwood (Heather), Jamie-Rose Monk (Claire), and Karen Holmes (Zoe), they try to make up for lost time.
With both groups of women, the connection between them is definitely the highlight. They send you on an emotional rollercoaster of love, friendship, loss, and rediscovery.
THE BAND
These girls connect because of their love for The Band. They discover them as teenagers and then join back together for their reunion tour. The Band is played by Kalifa Burton, Benjamin Cameron, Jamie Corner, Archie Durrant, and Alexanda O’Reilly. Whilst they’re meant to be the stars of the show, they sort of feel like ghosts in most scenes as they’re most in the women’s imaginations. Corner’s solo of Shine was probably my favourite performance. He was on the original Let It Shine show but didn’t make the final five. I’m glad he’s getting his chance now!
Arguably, I’d say that The Band was vastly underused. Whilst the story is about the girls, the five guys seem to mostly be in the background. With all that talent, I’d have them front and centre much more! I particularly enjoyed that they were their own band, not trying to be Take That. Nobody needs another Barry Garlow in the world.
THE PRODUCTION
Now is where this review becomes less positive. Whilst I do like the story, the script itself doesn’t seem very well done. The dialogue is a bit lacking in places and they could’ve dived into the lives of the women a bit more.
The staging was a little drab, with just a grey brick backdrop and multiple moving staircases on stage. I was particularly distracted whenever a scene would start and The Band would still be moving the staircases into place. It felt a little rushed in that aspect. Honestly, the backdrop felt more like a prison, not too unlike Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet. However, it was much darker in colour!
The music is meant to be the highlight yet most of the songs are cut short, with several being sung off stage. The Band got a couple of big numbers but that was it. I swear the original production had way more songs in it. I’m not really a big fan of Take That’s newer music since they reformed so I would’ve switched a few out for the 90s classics!
The costuming was effective but pretty simple. For the most part, the women are in regular clothing but each has a distinctive colour so you can relate them to their younger selves. This felt very ‘The Saturdays’ to me!
FINAL THOUGHTS
I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy this production but I was pretty underwhelmed with it after leaving the theatre. Whilst once again, the cast shines with what they’re given, the whole show felt a bit meh. It didn’t help playing to a small audience (I’d say it was only about a third full) and whilst the songs were performed well, there weren’t enough of them!
If the show was given a bigger budget to explore more set design, costumes, and lighting design, I think it could be a much smoother show. However, it’s not one I’d rush back to see. It just doesn’t feel as grand as other tours do.
A quick note on the odd finale too. The show finishes, the Greatest Days curtain comes down, and an instrumental version of Relight My Fire plays. Then the curtain rises and the cast do a medley of Take That hits. For me, I found it really strange. It almost had a concert feel to it as an encore but it didn’t work for me.
You can find the rest of the tour stops here. Check out my other theatre reviews right here. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more stagey trips!
