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reviewed by Jessica Richardson
The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - Tuesday November 24th 2009
As one of the millions of teenagers left devastated when ‘the
boys’ spilt up, screamed with excitement when ‘the
men’ returned and sat in torrential rain for hours to
sing along to Back For Good, its fair to say I was excited to
see the Never Forget musical.
And, as a massive musical fan, I had high expectations while
waiting for the curtain to open on Never Forget – a show
that has received rave reviews and has been touring the UK since
its opening in 2007.
I’m happy to report it didn’t disappoint!
Writers, Guy Brocklehurst, Guy Jones and Ed Curtis have done
a fantastic job writing a classic, if predictable, love story
entwined with the tale of a tribute bands’ search for
fame. The story captures the audience’s attention and
keeps it, naturally integrating the real reason most of the
people are there: the classic 90’s Take That songs.
The lead roles, young lovers Ash and Chloe, are played by Mark
Willshire and Aimie Atkinson. Both are incredibly talented with
amazing vocals – not a single wrong note was sung. Quite
an achievement for their opening night at the Grand Theatre,
Wolverhampton.
The supporting cast included fantastic comic timing from the
Take That tribute band, particularly Adam Booth (Jake) and Brookside's
Philip Olivier (Dirty Harry). Kay Murphy was fantastic in her
role as talent scout Annie, an untraditional ‘evil villain’.
The backing dancers performed Karen Bruce’s varied choreography
in perfect sync.
One of my personal highlights was undoubtedly the rain curtain
that closed the first act – complete with the words NEVER
FORGET spelt out in rain drops. I’m sure the rest of the
audience were as keen as I was to return to my seat for the
second half.
I cannot praise the cast and show more than saying that the
closing scene and following encore (a heavenly mix of the best
of TT) had every single member of the audience – including
the dozen husbands and boyfriends that had been dragged along
for the evening – on their feet clapping, dancing and
singing along.
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A
five star rating from me, and my elder sister who raved
about it the entire way home! Never Forget is an impressive
and enjoyable show, perfect for any Take That or musical
fan. I would most definitely recommend a visit.
Reviewer
Jessica Richardson.
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