REVIEW: Summer Holiday - The Storyhouse, Chester.

Fun! Fun! Fun! Billed as the happiest musical around, Summer Holiday delivers on every level with this glittering, West-End worthy show. Based on the 1963 film Summer Holiday starring Cliff Richard, this production brings the story to new audiences with a big red London double-decker bus filling the stage of the eight hundred seat Storyhouse theatre.

The story is an unchallenging boy meets girl (in this case boys meet girls) on holiday while driving around Europe in a converted London bus. The four boys lead by Don (Ray Quinn) are bus mechanics which comes in handy when they rescue three girl singers Mimsie (Gabby Antrobus), Alma (Alice Baker) and Angie (Laura Marie Benson) whose car has broken down in France on their way to a gig in Athens. The boys declare the car unfixable and with a little persuasion on both sides they offer to take the girls and change course for Athens. It takes a couple of songs and dances to work out that one of the boys doesn’t have a girl. That is until they find a stowaway on board in the shape of American singer Barbara (Sophie Matthew) disguised as a boy Bobby who befriends the clean-cut Bachelor Boy Don. Barbara has run away from her overbearing mother Stella (Taryn Sudding) who takes every opportunity to control her life and promote her career. Stella is supported by her overworked agent Jerry (Wayne Smith) to track Barbara down and disrupt their journey while using the press to build more and more publicity. When Barbara’s cover is blown, Don has his very own Living Doll.

The kitted-out converted bus, complete with shower, takes a starring role as it moves and rotates, steered by a multi-talented young cast of singers and dancers. Whatever earlier glitches there may have been they have been ironed out for this ultra-professional performance. The cast is headed up by a charming Ray Quinn (X Factor runner up, Dancing on Ice Champions Champion) slipping easily into the role (made famous by Cliff Richard) of bus mechanic Don with the requisite cheesy grin, delightful dance moves and easy-listening singing voice. The show is high energy from the start and the cast never relax their pace with each big dance number swelled with ensemble dancers captivating the audience to throw off any cares for a couple of hours of old fashioned fun. The gloriously named Racky Plews directs and choreographs the show to within an inch of its life, allowing no place to hide for the enthusiastic well-rehearsed cast. Dance moves range from Elvis hips to balletic leaps with routines all performed while singing songs such as In the Country, The Young Ones and of course Summer Holiday.

The music directed by Rob Wicks is familiar but modern and just the right side of nostalgia to appeal to a new audience while satisfying those who remember the original version.

Quinn as Don is the star of the show with his effortless song and dance style that shows off his years of dedication and training to the full. The red bus could be his literal vehicle to even greater success. I was mildly distracted wondering how they managed to conceal his ‘sleeve’ tattoos but otherwise remained with the rest of the audience fully engaged with the lively on-stage action. There is never a dull moment as the supporting cast also give thrilling dance routines with the girls holding their own against a strong male cast as they travel through France and Italy to give their group performance in Athens. Billy Roberts plays a convincing macho Steve with Joe Goldie as cheeky Edwin and Rory Maguire as hapless Cyril courting the audience as well as the girls. Antrobus’ high kicking Mimsie surprises with a strong singing voice together with Alma and Angie who bring innocent fun to the party. Barbara (Sophie Matthew) sparkles particularly in duet with Don making a believable cute couple and Sudding’s Stella provides much comedy as she orders the long-suffering Jerry around.

By the end of Summer Holiday, the whole audience was on its feet singing and dancing along to a medley lead by Quinn and performed by the whole cast. A well-deserved standing ovation for this unashamedly nostalgic show.

reviewer - Barbara Sherlock

on - 11/9/18