Here and Now
★★★★☆ Full-on candyfloss
Playhouse: Tue 24 – Sat 28 feb 2026
Review by Thom Dibdin
Here and Now, the Steps jukebox musical, jumps headlong onto the Playhouse stage in a production which is all heart and vitality in its telling of a story that is as substantial as candyfloss on a stick.
Which is no bad thing, to be honest. It precisely reflects the playful spirit of the band and plays, if not straight but certainly directly, to their fans. Anyone who ever went to Trendy Wendy’s legendary Tackno night club, where dressing up was de-rigour and Steps were a particular hit, will recognise the vibe.
Lara Denning as Caz. Pic: Pamela Raith.
There is a plot, and Shuan Kitchener on book-writing duties has done an immense job to bring it in as coherently as he has, while the design team have had ball – on several different levels.
It’s all set in Better Best Bargains, a seaside supermarket with a particularly vibrant sense of neon design, where Caz is queen of checkout lanes five, six, seven and eight, with her besties Vel, Neeta and Robbie.
Lara Denning excels as Caz, a fortnight shy of her fiftieth birthday and finally received notification that she and husband Gareth (Chris Grahamson) can adopt. Bubbly and determined, she wants to make sure that all four pals will have some kind of resolution to their various love lives by the time she hits the big Five Oh.
flustered
Jacqui Dubois is nicely equivocal as Vel, who can’t ever quite find the right time (summon up the courage, more like) to tell her long-term boyfriend Lesley (the equally equivocal John Stacey) that she want’s out of their relationship.
Rosie Singha’s Neeta is equally flustered in her love life. Only difference is that she is completely incapable of telling hunky co-worker Ben (Ben Darcy) that he is the object of all her fantasies. Darcy doesn’t have much to work with, but they perform a nicely framed dance of complete terror when they are in each other’s company.
Lara Denning (Caz), Rosie Singha (Neeta) and Jacqui Dubois (Vel). Pic: Pamela Raith.
As for Blake Patrick Anderson’s Robbie, he is very happy to get off with any dishy lad who comes along – but is incapable of committing. Until River Medway’s local drag queen Jem rolls up, when he becomes incapable of anything…
All four bring suitable acting chops to the checkout aisles and while Anderson isn’t quite as strong in his vocals as the other three, he knows how to give it some oomph.
seriously snippy
Unbeknownst to Caz, things at BBB are getting a bit serious, as Cupid’s bow has also been hovering over their boss, the seriously snippy Patricia. Sally Ann Mathews does a great job in making her both authoritarian and vulnerable – when incorrigible Max (a delightfully smarmy Edward Baker-Duly) heaves into view.
Obviously everything is going to be alright in the end, Lauren Woolf’s Tracey will get to do more than bring in the bacon, there will be a drag queen dream sequence in the freezer section, and much use will be make of the rainbow unicorn floating aids.
Centre: Blake Patrick Anderson (Robbie) and River Medway (Jem). Pic: Pamela Raith.
It’s hard to think how this pure escapist fantasy could be more wish-fulfilling. And while the turns on stage are having a ball, the creative team have been too.
Director Rachel Kavanaugh keeps it light and fluffy and rushing along with pursed lips to the fore. Matt Cole uses the nine-strong ensemble to put some rippling flesh on the action in the aisles while Howard Hudson’s lighting ensues that the whole thing pops.
But the biggest shout out goes to set designer Tom Rogers and costume designer Gabriella Slade. They are brilliantly colour coordinated, with not just the one, but two great tabard designs for the BBB employees, and slinky outfits all round for the ensemble.
as corny as a chicken’s breakfast
There a couple of great Easter Eggs in there too for Steps fans – with suitable graffiti on the wall outside the staff entrance, where the dumpster belongs to a company called “Trash Duty” waste disposal.
Top that with a proper ten minute post-bows on-your-feet mega-mix, and you can’t help but jump back up those steps with glee. Yes, its all as corny as a chicken’s breakfast. But H is for Hubris and there’s nothing quite as satisfying as watching the little folk bring their glamour to the fall of those who deserve it.
Running time: Two hours and 35 minutes (including one interval).
Playhouse, 18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA.
Tue 24 Feb – Sun 1 Mar 2026
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm; Sun 3pm only.
Tickets and details: Book here.
The cast of Here and Now. Pic: Pamela Raith.
ENDS
