I do have a bit of history with GREATEST DAY – The Official Take That Musical. Originally, the show was called The Band and featured a cast pulled together from a TV Talent show. I was fortunate to be at the opening of that show in Manchester back in 2017, and on the night TAKE THAT came on stage to take us through a brilliant version of Never Forget.
I mention this because back then I really loved the Gary Barlow/Tim Firth written show and now it’s rebranded, and at the Wales Millennium Centre for the rest of this week, I wanted it to be great again and wondered ‘Could it Be Magic‘ still (see what I did there?).
Now, I don’t want to spoil this review, cause it’ll take me a while to write it, but I can tell you right now, the show is everything it was back then and even more, polished like a shiny new star, in fact, you could even say that it’s ‘Back For Good‘.
First of all, with an audience filled with Take That fans, we grabbed some of them after the show to get their thoughts. A little word of warning though – Thatters (a TT Fan) are slightly unpredictable, in the best possible way. You’ll see what we mean.
The musical follows a group of five best friends in the 1990’s who are obsessed with their favourite boy band. The girls then reunite more than 20 years later with a plan to see their heartthrobs one last time in what could be the Greatest Days of their lives.
As you can tell, the show seems to mirror the life of one certain boy band featuring Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. Back in the day we had Robbie Williams and Jason Orange, who together became one of our most successful band’s in British chart history, with over 45 million records sold worldwide and 12 number 1 hits in the UK.
So, you go into the theatre pretty much knowing who Take That are, and amazingly, knowing every word to every single song – and there’s 15 absolute belters in this production. Of course, a show which features classic songs like this is going to be called a jukebox musical, but there’s a proper story too, and one which takes you on a real emotional journey.
The twist here is that rather than go on the journey of the ‘Band‘ we follow the lives of five of their teenage fans who all live in a small town in the North West of England in 1993 – at least that’s where we first meet them.
The girls all have big life plans themselves, but as with these things, it’s their love of the boy band which is their only focus, and one which strengthens their friendship.
One of them wins tickets to see the band in concert at Manchester Apollo, so you can imagine the excitement. I don’t want to give too much away here but tragedy strikes, and circumstances puts distance between the girls and the love of the band. Fast-forward 25 years and luck strikes again with another competition and another win. But will the girls get together and finally get to see their teenage idols?
I really love that we focus on the fans in the story and the things which break them up and hopefully bring them back together. You’d expect a story of a band to do that but not five ordinary friends.Â
The way Tim Firth has written the story is funny and touching, and you get a real sense of vulnerability from the characters, both the younger and older selves. Whilst the music is hugely important, you’ll love the way the story takes centre stage with the Take That songs enhancing the storyline.
I can honestly say, it is a real emotional journey, and one you’ll not be able to resist shedding a tear too.
Pretty much all of the first half is taken up with the younger girls, filled with hopes and dreams and the boyband obsessions. The cast, who you really feel are all proper friends includes KITTY HARRIS (HEATHER), HANNAH BROWN (Zoe), EMILIE CUNLIFFE (Rachel), MARI MCGINLAY (Claire) and MARY MOORE (Debbie)
Which means by act 2, the girls are older, lives are different and we’re wondering if they can ever get back the friendship and magic they once had.
The older cast are excellent too and really mirror their younger characters we met early on. That probably wasn’t too difficult for KYM MARSH (Rachel), as it’s her real life daughter Emilie who plays her younger self. I must confess to being a fan of Kym from her Coronation Street days but I have to say, as Rachel she absolutely shone. As with any band it is of course of group effort, but secretly there’s always a bit of a stand-out star.
What we love about this show however is that there isn’t a lead as such, it really is an ensemble affair, and it has to be because of the dynamics of the story. HOLLY ASHTON is the older Zoe, RACHEL MERWOOD is Heather and JAMIE-ROSE MONK is Claire. Just as each of the 16 year old teenagers has a tale to tell, the 40 something women have their story too and this cast pulls that off brilliantly.
So you’re probably asking yourself, where’s the Take That thing, surely we need to see the Band for it to be a TT musical. Yes, of course there’s the band, but this isn’t the story of Take That, the music is all theirs, and mighty fine it is too. This is a proper story about friendship, love, and togetherness, and for me is all the better for it.
For a bit of clarity, the band are there, either performing at a gig or in the background adding emotion to the story. I really like how the songs are not forced into the plot but really help bring the heart and soul out of the story. If you are a Take That fan however, you won’t be disappointed. Whether you grew up knowing their music, or just have a passing appreciation of their music, 15 of the very best are there, and I challenge you not to be singing along (in your head) to each and every one of them.
The band are – KALIFA BURTON, JAMIE CORNER, ARCHIE DURRANT, REGAN GASCOINE, and ALEXANDA O’REILLY. Now these aren’t meant to be Take That at all, but there are some similarities, which I think we were all looking out for. Regan for example is one hell of a Jason Orange type dancer. Incidentally, the boys don’t talk in this show, but they sure as hell can sing, and without any dialogue are still really funny.
We do want to give a mention to CHRISTOPHER D HUNT who plays Jeff and ALAN STOCKS as Dave. The guys fit in perfectly and add humour and warmth in equal measures. They also did a pretty good sing-a-long at the end.
I remember the set from the original production and there are elements of that here, but designer LUCY OSBORNE has done a great job, keeping it relatively simple, in fact there’s not a huge amount of changes throughout the show. Props come and go and move around, a lot of it by the cast themselves, but the focus is always on the story and we’re never distracted away from that.
It would have been way too easy to give us the story of the five lads who made up Take That, with all the fighting, splits, name calling and eventual reconciliation. At the end of the day, we’ve seen all of that unfold in countless documentaries on TV over the years. What we have in GREATEST DAYS is a great story, which we can all relate to, beautifully told, with one of the best pop soundtracks you’ll hear anywhere.
I loved it first time around, and to quote one of the Thatters in our video, I flipping loved it this time. Without a shadow of doubt I would walk through the WMC door and happily watch it again this week, and I would urge you to give it a go too. This is the story of us fans up on that stage.
As far as the production goes, ‘Everything Changes‘ but the story retains all the heart and love. You’ll laugh and cry and definitely sing-a-long at the end. It’s time to Take That and Party like it’s 1993.
GREATEST DAYS is at the Wales Millennium Centre, in the Donald Gordon Theatre through to Saturday 1st July. Performances are at 7:30pm with a 2:30pm matinee on Thursday and Saturday. For more details, and to get tickets, go HERE.
You can take a look at our original feature, and interview with Mother and Daughter Kym and Emilie – HERE
