The show begins with the arrival by boat of Anna (Annalene Beechey) and her young son Louis, the Captain (Sam Jenkins-Shaw) pointing out the lights of Bangkok in the distance. Culture shock kicks in as Kralahome (Sam Yo), the prime minister, arrives “half naked” and waiting people immediately want to see the mysterious shape of the English woman, wearing a floor-length wide-hooped skirt, as was the Victorian fashion. It’s a good job Anna has already taught her son to ‘Whistle a Happy Tune’ whenever she’s scared. Her strong character immediately objects to being lied to about their accommodation, of the broken contract between employer and employee, and the scene is set for many clashes between Anna and the King (Brian Rivera).

When we first meet the King, he’s anguished over the future of his country, with nearby Cambodia about to be protected by the French; lose their independence. The show is based on the 1940s novel Anna And The King Of Siam by Margaret Landon, who based her story about true events and people in Asia.   

A gift arrives for the King, from Burma, a young slave girl, Tuptim (Marienella Phillips), who will become his latest wife. Her escort, Lun Tha (Dean John-Wilson) is her secret lover, and their story mirrors events in the USA at the time. Tuptim asks Anna if she has the book about the little house in the woods where Tom lives; the 1850s anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Hariet Beecher Stowe, had a profound effect on attitudes towards African-Americans in America. Indeed, this book is the impetus for a turning point towards the end of the show, an intense clash of cultures, when Tuptim performs this play for visiting English dignitaries. 

The show has appeared on Broadway, with Yul Brynner playing the original role of the King, and in the West End, since the 1950s, and was made into a film in 1956, starring Brynner and Deborah Kerr, during the latter part of Hollywood’s Golden Age. 

The show really belongs to the future generation of actors, with the young performers stealing the limelight effortlessly, each time they’re talking, singing or dancing. Louis, the Royal children and Prince Chulalongkorn, are spot on with their dialogue, timing and sheer confidence on stage, the younger children owning quite physical comedic roles.  

The costumes of Anna’s hooped dresses, the Royal wives’ traditional dresses and the play-within-the-play outfits are absolutely breathtaking, helped to stand out even more by a simplistic set design, of which huge curtains and small stools are the rotating characters.  

The iconic musical numbers, including ‘Getting to Know You’ ‘A Puzzlement’ and ‘Shall We Dance’ were performed superbly, bringing smiles to faces and warmth to hearts. The developing affection between Anna and the King worked well on stage, as they began to understand one another.  

However, I did feel that the show was a little too long, at two hours and forty minutes, and it’s not for people who need to fidget. With the film, if not the pause button, there is more comfortable seating. The history of the story doesn’t really work for today’s audience, so there’s an element of appreciating this as a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein show, set almost two hundred years ago (give or take a decade) – the duo were responsible for shows which are still performed on stages today, including ‘Oklahoma!’ and ‘The Sound of Music’.

Cast: Annalene Beechey, Brian Rivera, Cezarah Bonner, Sam Jenkins-Shaw, Dean John-Wilson, Caleb Lagayan, Sam Yo, Marienella Phillips, Josh Bortoloso, Fin Goodman, Louis Levy, Charlie McGuire and ensemble Music and Lyrics: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II Costumes: Catherine Zuber Sets: Michael Yeargan Musical Supervisor: Ted Sperling Directed by: Bartlett Sher Running Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes Theatre: Theatre Royal Plymouth Performance Dates: 19th – 23rd September 2023 

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Charting his Lubbock, Texas – and Nashville, Tennessee – early days in 1956 through to his untimely death on 3^rd February 1959, the musical biopic provides humour, history and harmonies aplenty in a West End and Broadway hit that has lifted audiences to their feet since 1989.

The enthusiasm of Buddy (performed by AJ Jenks on opening night) and his band The Crickets is barely contained as they strive to leave their country music roots behind and make music their way. Drummer Jerry Allison (Josh Haberfield) and bassist Joe B Mauldin (Joe Butcher) provide great physical performances throughout the show, particularly in the early days with Butcher’s deft ability to leap over and on top of the double bass. There is pure joy in the core trio as they ‘Rip It Up’ and equal frustration as an early draft of ‘That’ll Be The Day’ doesn’t quite sound right. Eventually the song would find its sound and become their first hit, reaching the top 3 in May 1957.

The ‘Buddy’ set is simple and the lighting effective, switching scenes from the radio station to the recording studios and the stage with ease, allowing the focus to be on the incredible musicianship on the stage, and to the audience when we’re part of the music.

Act One ends with the first of two mini-shows-within-the show, their legendary appearance at the Apollo Theatre, Harlem, New York, on 16^th August 1957, as the first white group to perform at the theatre, in the height of the Civil Rights movement. The music speaks for itself on the stage, with the Apollo performers Tyrone Jones (Miguel Angel), Chantel Williams (Laura-Dene Perryman) and Marlena Madison (Samuelle Durojaiye) joining in the performances of ‘Long Tall Sally’ and ‘Oh Boy’ marking the social impact that music can have in bringing people together.

Act Two packs a powerful punch as the twenty-year old Holly moves to New York as an independent artist, has chart success with hit after hit and marries Maria Elena (Daniella Agredo Piper) after a whirlwind five hour romance in New York. The inevitable final performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, on 2^nd February 1959, also featuring final appearances from a charismatic The Big Bopper (Christopher Chandler) and seventeen year old Ritchie Valens (also performed by Miguel Angel) is performed before the theatre audience, with the audience encouraged to clap and cheer along, as if we were at Clear Lake.

What is a tragedy – even more poignant with Holly showcasing new music he was working on, including ‘True Love Ways’ and ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ – is handled with heart and humour by the cast, right through to the encore of a stunning ‘Johnny B Goode’ earning a standing ovation from the audience.

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper and pilot Roger Peterson died in an air crash on 3^rd February 1959. New bassist and future country legend, Waylon Jennings, alongside fellow band members, took the cold tour bus back home.

The moment was immortalised in Don McClean’s American Pie as “the day the music died”, yet the Fifties heralded the new sound of rock ‘n’ roll, with Holly playing an essential role in music history; he was the first artist who used two guitars, a bass and a drum in performances, to record his own songs and to perform, which we still see in rock bands today, he opened for Presley, and his accessible, spectacle-wearing appearance, inspired legendary acts such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Hollies and Elvis Costello when they saw his 1958 appearance at the Palladium. Holly left a legacy including ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘Heartbeat’ ‘Raining In My Heart’ ‘Everyday’ and ‘Rave On’.

‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Show’ is an absolute must-see of a music biopic, with a history that should be taught in every music class; the Fifties was the decade the music came alive.  

Cast: AJ Jenks/Christopher Weeks, Joe Butcher, Josh Haberfield, Thomas Mitchells, Stephanie Cremona, Miguel Angel, Laura-Dene Perryman, Samuelle Durojaiye, Daniella Agredo Piper, Christopher Chandler, Ewan Ling. Writer and Producer: Alan Janes, Director: Matt Salisbury, Musical Director: Dean Elliott Running Time: 150 minutes, including interval Theatre: Theatre Royal Plymouth Performance dates: 30^th May – 3^rd June 2023 Buy Tickets for ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story’

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The iconic Australian ‘90s film, the first created by auteur filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, is directed for the stage by Craig Revel Horwood, who also co-choreographed with Jason Gilkison. Kevin Clifton and Maisie Smith star as young dancers Scott and Fran, and the whole production is in perfect hands with this ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ team.

Yet thirty years ago, when Baz Luhrmann’s low-budget film of ballroom dancing champion Scott Hastings and Fran, a beginner dancer, hit the big screen (winning a slew of awards) Strictly Come Dancing wasn’t even in the UK, let alone the 60 countries around the world that has taken this dance show to their heart.

There are two types of audience for this show; those who saw the film in the ‘90s, and those who grew up in a ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ era (or people who haven’t yet seen the film).  Whichever age group you’re in, the cast, the music, the riot of colour in this tale of behind-the-curtains ballroom dancing backstabbing immediately draws you in, from Revel Horwood’s insightful, humorous voiceover introduction to the silk swirls and Aussie non-verbal communication in the first dance, right through to the standing ovation from an enraptured audience.

What I really love about this production, from Phil McIntyre Live, is the subtle homage to almost one hundred years of dance, beginning with the captivating Busby Berkeley high-energy circular choreography from the 1940s, where the topographical position of the dancers mattered equally as to what the eye beheld in front of it. Imagine Fred Astaire, as an Aussie, fighting for the champion dance spot, Ginger Rogers stepping savagely into the limelight? 

Then there’s a nod to Gene Kelly, with humour and a ballet-inspired dance scene in the second act, that felt outside of a film and at the same time within it.  Think of the iconic dance sequence bringing in his dance partner Cyd Charisse halfway through ‘Singin’ In The Rain’. Then merge it with a hint of ‘Cabaret’ and the German jazz age as men in their off-white tighty-whiteys seem to appear in ballroom boss’ Barry Fife’s hilarious dream. 

‘Grease’ and ‘Dirty Dancing’ dances find their way into the perfectly choreographed show, most notably a take on the infamous ‘lift’ between Scott and Fran in their dance rehearsals.  Even ‘River Dance’ could be said to have a moment, during the end of both the first and second acts, as a stage full of dancers stomps their way to form a line at the front.  Oh, there’s Stomp, too. 

I especially got lost in the dancing between Jose Agudo’s Rico and Kevin Clifton’s Scott, as the transition from rules-to-heart rhythm occurs through the breathtaking paso doble routine.

Did I mention that ‘Strictly Ballroom’ is a magnificent show?

Then there’s the music. Featuring the iconic ‘Love Is In the Air’, which featured in the original film, as well as songs whose lyrics are chosen to elevate the scene, such as Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’.

I’ve seen a lot of musicals in the last twenty years, and I immediately want to see ‘Strictly Ballroom: The Musical’ again.

‘Strictly Ballroom: The Musical’ is on its first tour of the UK and Ireland.

Cast: Kevin Clifton, Maisie Smith, Nikki Belsher, Mark Sangster, Gary Davis, Quinn Patrick, Oliver Brooks, Jose Agudo, Karen Mann, Kieran Cooper, Maddy Ambus, Agnes Pure, Danielle Cato, Benjamin Harrold, Adam Davidson, Poppy Blackledge, Jessica Vaux, Jasmine Joy and Michelle Buckley Book: Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce Director and Co-Choreograher: Craig Revel Horwood Co-Choreographer: Jason Gilkison Set and Costume Designer: Mark Walters  Theatre: Theatre Royal Plymouth Running Time: 140 minutes Performance dates: 30^th January – 4^th February 2023 Buy Tickets here.

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