NOW That’s What I Call A Musical
★★★☆☆ Mixed bag nostalgia
Playhouse: Tue 25 Feb – Sat 1 Mar 2025
Review by Sophie Good
A jukebox musical of 1980s karaoke classics is brought to life to mark the 40th anniversary of legendary compilation tape series Now That’s What I Call Music! at the Edinburgh Playhouse this week.
NOW That’s What I Call a Musical, with a time-switching book by Pippa Evans, promises over 20 iconic 80s smash hits to get you dancing in your seat, under the direction and choreography of Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood.
Gemma (Nina Wadia) and April (Sam Bailey). Pic Mark Senior.
We start in 2009, at a dreary Birmingham pub where a school reunion is taking place amidst the usual sense of embarrassment and reluctance from a bunch of adults who are meeting friends they last saw when they left school in 1989.
Gemma (Nina Wadia of Eastenders fame) is in hopeful anticipation of seeing her long-lost best pal April. It’s clear her life isn’t the bed of roses Gemma might have hoped it would be, back in her youth.
The plot goes back and forth over the 20 years. In 1989, young April (Maia Hawkins) and young Gemma (Nikita Johal) have a heart-warming friendship, lending itself well to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and all of the girlish dreams they shared.
nuanced quality
On the cusp of adulthood – and celebrating their 18th birthdays together with a drunken rendition of Red Red Wine – they each hope for different things: April has her flight booked to Hollywood to become a big star; Gemma plans on staying at home, becoming a nurse and having a family.
Evans’ script is not always as fleshed out as it could be and it’s hard to root for young April without much to latch onto. However, in her professional debut, Hawkins brings a nuanced quality to what could have been a simplistic character. You believe in her dreams for a better life despite there being little or no backstory and no family featured.
Young Gemma (Nikita Johal), Tim (Kieran Cooper) and company. Pic: Mark Senior.
Gemma’s character is better drawn, with family and background. Her big brother Frank brings a comedic, hapless flavour in both his younger version (Luke Latchman) and as a grown up (Shakil Hussain). It’s a pair of enjoyable and believable turns, as Birmingham’s answer to Del Boy.
We don’t meet grown up April (X Factor‘s Sam Bailey) until much later and it’s clear that her Hollywood star persona has also somewhat faltered, as has Gemma’s disappointing marriage to her serial Lothario finance tycoon husband.
Gemma’s husband, played with aplomb in the younger version by Kieran Cooper, is one of the better comedic turns, a get-rich-quick caricature of 80s greed. An enjoyable rendition of Gold and some ambitious choreography sees him fling new girlfriend Gemma around in classic Revel Horwood style. The 2009 version (Chris Grahamson) is equally greedy, creepy and fun to hate.
Of course, the 80s jukebox hits are the real stars of the show and there are some fun set pieces such as Video Killed the Radio Star and Mickey.
integrated nicely
Some songs are integrated nicely into the plot. Vocal arranger Mark Crossland’s slow version of Everybody Wants To Rule The World is particularly moving, from the vocally accomplished Hawkins as young April when her glamorous LA dreams start to shatter.
Other songs feel shoe-horned in and don’t always fit with the wider plot or the choreography, which feels deliberately cliched in parts. A random tango, which morphs into the dancers taking the set offstage, is one of several clunky moments, some of which descend into genuine chaos.
Young Gemma (Nikita Johal) and Tim (Kieran Cooper), with Gemma (Nina Wadia). Pic: Mark Senior.
As director, Revel Horwood’s pace sags in the middle and the constant time hopping gets tedious in parts. The moments where the younger and older selves appear together have mixed success. Gemma’s attempt to prize her younger bride-self apart from the groom at a their wedding, feels contrived and Wadia struggles to pull it off.
That said, Wadia’s acting is certainly a glue that holds the piece together, but it’s clear she and the other cast members haven’t been directed as tightly as they could be. Wadia is not a singer, and when she does do so it’s either disguised as bad karaoke or she’s drowned out by Bailey, who has a genuinely fantastic voice and really lets rip.
energy
The wider cast attack the piece with energy. It’s a lot of fun to see them get into their groove, especially with such a body diverse ensemble – still a lamentably rare sight. Their highlight is clearly working with the 80s mega star who makes a guest turn in a dream like sequence out of the white haze to offer Gemma some mid-life crisis advice.
For Edinburgh that guest is punk princess and 2024 Strictly Come Dancing contestant Toyah Willcox who appears in sparkly sequins and belts out her classic I Want to Be Free. Toyah’s not in it for long but makes a return for the obligatory on-your-feet and have a sing-along mega-mix at the end.
It’s a quite bonkers show, the plot is flimsy in places and the direction needs tightening up. But for fans of 80s pop classics prepared to focus less on the drama side of things, there’s a fun night out to be had all the same.
Running time: Two hours and 40 minutes (including one interval).
Edinburgh Playhouse, 18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA.
Tue 24 Feb – Sat 1 mar 2025
Evenings: 7.30pm, Mats: Wed, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
The NOW That’s What I Call A Musical company. Pic: Mark Senior.
ENDS
