I’ll start by saying that I wasn’t caught up in the Take That mania back in the 90’s, I missed it by a few years. I do however love their recent music and am always down for a good old sing song at the theatre.
What I wasn’t prepared for however was the emotional journey The Band took us on during our girls night at The Regent! It’s not a story following the rise of Take That as I thought when making my way to Stoke, but instead a heartwarming story about friendship, loyalty and the journey of life.
The Band tells the story of a group of young school girls who are – like most of the 90’s generation – obsessed with Take That. They go to a concert to see their favourite band and make a pact to come back to the same spot in 20 years time, still best friends. Sadly life gets in the way and the girls drift apart…until the opportunity for a reunion concert comes along!
With the story comes a soundtrack of Take That Hits sung on stage by Five to Five, the band formed on the hit tv show Let It Shine. The boys are fantastic, and although not totally polished on the dance routines, their staging and voices really set the scene.
The young girls are brilliant and the grown-up bunch are hilarious too! They really do take you on a journey from young boy band obsession through to awkward middle age reunions. It’s a small cast but it works well and the clever staging helps transition from scene to scene with ease. I was surprised at just how many Take That songs I knew and we were all singing along right until the end!
The Band is a real feel-good production. Nothing overly complicated but still emotive with every foot tapping in the house – one for your next girls night for sure!
The Band is on it’s UK Tour and showing at The Regent Theatre in Stoke until Saturday 9th December – Book Your Tickets and see where it’s going next HERE!
xax