The Band Musical

The Band

Leave a comment

Reviewed by Nikki Cotter

Opening Night verdict ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The fastest selling musical theatre tour of all time returned to the North West last night to a sell-out audience and a thundering standing ovation; confirming this life-affirming, laugh out loud production first seen at Manchester’s Opera House back in September 2017 is back for good….well until Saturday 26th January at least.

The Band offers a heart-warming trip down memory lane taking us back to 1993 when for four 16 year old friends their favourite boyband was literally their everything. They lived, breathed and worshipped at the TV when Top of the Pops came on, anything for their idols who provided the soundtrack to their lives and for one a much needed escape from reality. We then fast forward 25 years to a place where life has moved on, friendships have diminished but somewhere deep down a love for The Band continues to flicker and could be the key to bringing the girls back together again.

What comes next is an emotional, relatable and incredibly funny journey of not only self-discovery but also a much longed for opportunity to reconnect with each other and remember the hopes and dreams of their sixteen year old selves.

The Band opened to four and five star reviews last time it was in Manchester almost eighteen months ago; I loved it then and can confirm it’s even slicker now. While its charm and relatability remains there’s an added joy that comes from the deepening of the cast’s on stage chemistry, for this story to touch audiences the characters absolutely had to be believable, they feel authentic, lovable and even more real than they did before.

The five actresses playing the younger girls are outstanding, their delivery of uncomplicated and innocent friendship entirely believable. Full of life and boundless energy Faye Christall, Rachelle Diedericks, Katy Clayton, Lauren Jacobs and Sarah Kate Howarth tell their story with all the energy and enthusiasm of a sixteen year old on the cusp of life’s adventures. Jubilant, frivolous and here for the fun, then packing an emotional punch when tragedy strikes, each character is beautifully developed and unique from the next.

Playing the wide-eyed teens 25 years on are four outstanding actresses; hilarious, surprising and above all entirely relatable. Their journey of reconciliation perfectly embodying the reality of fragmented friendships; Rachel Lumberg, Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce and Jayne McKenna more than do justice to Tim Firth’s uplifting script and through the duration of the evening have the audience both fighting back the tears and roaring with laughter. There is heartache, celebration, great humour and above all great heart.

BBC’s Let It Shine stars AJ Bentley, Curtis T Johns, Harry Brown, Nick Carsberg and Yazdan Qafouri deliver some stunning harmonies and slick choreography as the members of The Band.  The musical arrangements add something new to Take That songs we’ve heard so many times before, there’s a deeper significance to the lyrics as the boys intertwine them subtly into scenes to both powerful and even at times comedic effect.

Jon Bausor’s multi-layered set transforms from teenage bedroom to busy airport with ease while directors Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder ensure the cast utilise every inch of the expansive set.

band

The Band musical really is the perfect package, a beautiful story delivered in a real and honest way. While you will more than likely laugh as well as cry you will undoubtedly leave feeling uplifted, deeply moved and enormously entertained.

Cathch The Band at The Lowry until Saturday 26th January tickets available

The Band head to The Lowry!

Leave a comment

 

The Band Q

Due to overwhelming public demand, Tim Firth’s smash-hit new musical, The Band, featuring the music of Take That, will return to the North West with a stop at The Lowry from Wednesday 16th until Saturday 26th January 2018.

The show which we gave a well-deserved five stars. is produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams takes audiences us back to 1992 when for five 16 year old friends The Band is their absolute everything, they live, breathe, eat & sleep the music. Fast forward 25 years and life is somewhat different for our ladies as they attempt one last time to meet their teenage crushes. The winning of concert tickets to Prague soon becomes a journey of self-discover as they not only attempt to reconnect with each other but remember and realise the hopes and dreams of their 16 year old selves.

With superb direction from Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, The Band has quickly become the fastest selling touring musical of all time as the show continues to delight audiences across the country.

Ticket information can be found here.

The Band in pictures

Leave a comment

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Official images have been released offering fans a first look at Take That and Tim Firth’s new musical, The Band, which has it’s official opening at Manchester’s Opera House tomorrow night.

The show tells the story of a group of friends for whom aged 16 The Band was their everything, now 25 years later they reunite in a bid to meet their heroes and rediscover their friendships.

Directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder and featuring BBC’s Let it Shine winners Five To Five, The Band sets out on a UK tour once leaving Manchester, tickets and further information can be found here; http://www.thebandmusical.com/tour

Credit to Matt Crockett for these fantastic images.

Behind the Scenes at The Band, Part 3

Leave a comment
LtoR Curtis T Johns, Nick Carsberg, AJ Bentley, Yazdan Qafouri, Sario So...

(Left to Right) Five To Five: Curtis T Johns, Nick Carsberg, AJ Bentley, Yazdan Qafouri, Sario Solomon

We’ve met the lovely leading ladies behind the show, the genius that is director and choreographer Kim Gavin, so now we move on to the all important voices who bring all those familiar Take That songs we know and love to life!

AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Curtis T Johns, Yazdan Qafouri and Sario Solomon collectively known as Five To Five and winners of BBC1’s Let It Shine play gave us a little background on just how it feels to be involved in such an exciting and hugely anticipated production.

(Opening Night) ON: From winning on Let It Shine to now must have been quite a ride, how has it been for you guys?

AJ: An absolute whirlwind would be one way to describe it, it’s been completly mad, from the start to where we are now. The rehearsals have been full on and we’re just so glad to be involved in such an incredible show, putting it in front of an audience has just been amazing.

Yazdan: It’s been a long time coming, we’ve been so excited. We’ve been doing workshops, doing some of our own stuff and then into rehearsals. Now, after months of toiling away behind the scenes, we’re finally bringing it to an audience.

Sario: We were literally itching to get on stage, the workshops were great and we learnt so much but they feel like so long ago now.

AJ: We learnt something new each day. With Take That being producers on the show they came in a lot and mentored us which has been absolutely invaluable.

ON: Have you adopted a member of Take That in terms of your character?

Curtis: No, not really, although in the show we play the band, we play ourselves the band Five To Five. All of the qualities of Take That as individuals and as a group we take on board and we feel that singing their songs is part of their legacy and we absolutely have to do it justice and make sure we give every song what it deserves. So, although we take the qualities, we’re not Take That and we’re not trying to imitate them.

ON: We imagine your Mums must have been Take That fans, are they extremely excited about this?

Sario: My Mum’s already seen it three times and we’ve only done three shows!

AJ: We grew up with that music because our parents were fans, now we’re working with Take That, we’re singing their music in their musical, that’s beyond our wildest dreams and I think even what our parents dreamt for us!

ON: Do your Mums want to be roadies?

Nick: Yes! They’re really proud of us, I think for them it must be surreal to watch your child go off and do something so incredible.

ON: Thinking back to the night it was announced on BBC’s Let It Shine that you’d been chosen to be ‘The Band’, what were your initial feelings?

AJ: It was crazy, we’ve all watched talent shows and thought I want that to happen to me then when it does it’s literally indescribable, beyond our wildest dreams.

ON: We absolutely loved the way so many Take That songs are so brilliantly used in the story, we especially loved The Flood. You got a mid-performance standing ovation from some audience members during the song, how does that feel?

Sario: It’s great that we get to deliver the songs differently, with our different voices. People are so used to hearing Take That singing these songs and they sing them so well but hearing different voices offers a different experience. Knowing we have Take That’s stamp of approval makes it even more special.

ON: We’ve seen some tweets off Take That wishing you good luck, have they given you any advice?

Sario: “Don’t mess it up!”

Yazdan: Their mentoring has been invaluable, sharing the stage with them tonight was amazing.

(Take That surprised the boys AND the audience by joining them onstage for a special encore)

Just being in their company we’ve learnt so much.

Sario: The one thing they alway say is just enjoy it, go out there and just enjoy every minute of it. This is such a precious gift we have, to be able to perform to such amazing audiences every night is incredible, we just want to enjoy this unbelievable experience.

Curtis: It’s a cliche but we are ‘living the dream’.

ON: This tour is just starting, but afterwards will Five To Five continue?

AJ: Yes, absolutely. We’ve signed a three year management deal so obviously this is currently our priority but things will be bubbling away under the surface. We will be working with Take That and our management on new material which we’re all very excited about.

ON: Curtis, will you be writing the new material? 

Curtis: I think we’ll all be writing the songs, it all feels very exciting, like we’re at the start of a long journey for us as Five To Five. This really is just the start!

The Band runs at Manchester’s Opera House until 30th September 2017 before starting a UK tour.

For tickets and further information head to http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-band/opera-house-manchester/

http://www.bandmusical.com/tour