Written by: Peeny (@AdamPeeny)Where's Peen been?
Piccadilly Theatre, London
Was Peen keen?
***
One of the most eagerly anticipated
musicals of the year arrives with quite an anti-climactic bang. Attempting to
remind us of the girl band extravaganza known as the Spice Girls, this is a
musical based on their back catalogue that wasn’t quite known for the skillful
song-writing or world-class performances, but rather what they stand for and
represent. Viva Forever! is somewhat
similar in that respect and is a great way to spice up your evening, but not
quite your life.
The brains behind it belong to producer
Judy Craymer, who also brought us the smash-hit musical Mamma Mia, so expectations were understandably quite high. Written
by Jennifer Saunders, we were bound to spend some time giggling too; what they
set out to achieve isn’t quite achieved, but I don’t doubt that audiences will
continue to flock in and if the girl band’s multi-billion, cross-generation fan
base is anything to go by then it won’t be leaving town in a rush.
We
follow a girl group that’s progressing through a talent contest, Star Maker, until they are offered an
ultimatum by Sharon Osborne-type judge, Simone (Sally Dexter): only one of the
girls can progress further in the competition. Once we come round to the fact
that there are actually worse things in life, we follow Viva, ‘the chosen one’
on her rise to stardom. With interspersed relationship issues and awkward
silences, there are some heart wrenching moments surrounding the demise of
strangely loveable Simone, and Lauren (Sally Ann Triplett) who adopted Viva at
a young age. Hatty Preston brings to life the most comic figure in Minty and
relates entirely with the hashtag-younger-generation.
Viva
Forever dives straight in to the deep end with
production elements of a high quantity and quality, and is amongst the most
large-scale productions in the West End. With TV screens lining the stage, a
revolving stage and various settings that slide in and out of view with ease,
there’s ample reason to feel wowed.
But this was never going to be a
groundbreaking performance; the storyline reeks of cliché and some of the
acting is questionable. Lest we forget how over-dramatic a substantial
proportion of it is, too. But the singing is on point, and by the end you will
be (perhaps begrudgingly so) clapping, singing and dancing along with the cast
in the encore that, regrettably, is a bit too dissimilar from the rest of the
production. Had it all been as vibrant and in-yer-face as the encore, this
would have been a completely different and arguably better production. Crammed
with stereotypes and based on its foundations, patriotism, it doesn’t leave you
disappointed, just feeling quite nonchalant.
This production is currently booking until 1 June 2013.
For more information: http://www.vivaforeverthemusical.com
@VivaForever
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