Review: Greatest Days (Touring)

Tuesday, 20th November 2023 at Leeds Grand Theatre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The OFFICIAL Take That Musical, Greatest Days, is an upbeat show with real heart. Following the lives of ordinary folk against a backdrop of Take That hits, it is surprisingly moving at times and has real substance as well as plenty of light-heartedness.

To be clear: Tim Firth (who co-directs with Stacey Haynes) hasn’t written the story of the Take That lads and their journey to stardom. This is the story of a gaggle of teenage super fans who bond over “the boys” in youth and reconnect through them years later. The younger/mature pairings are top notch and provide smooth transitions between past and present across Acts 1 and 2.

It’s a familiar crowd: the pretty ordinary girl with a tricky home life and dreams of stability (Emilie Cunliffe/ Kym Marsh); the “it” girl, ever confident and ever popular (Kitty Harris/ Rachael Marwood); the shy, anxious one (Hannah Brown/ Holly Ashton); the driven, sporty one (Mari McGinlay/ Jamie-Rose Monk); and the wholesome, lovable optimist (Mary Moore). They’re an entertaining mix and offer a great cross-section of those who make up any given fandom but also provide some poignant insights into growing up and looking back at who we thought we’d be.

With a distinctly Mamma Mia! vibe, there’s a cheesy rosiness to lean into, but the layers are impressive, with a good dose of wit and humour pervading while also managing heartfelt realism when it comes to the changes life throws at us. Top comedy credits go to Marwood and Harris for their tandem character traits, Moore for her unlimited exuberance, Christopher D.Hunt for his “simple bloke” deadpan delivery and Alan Stocks, who is brilliantly credited as “Every Dave” in the piece, making the most of every “bit part” he lands.

But Take That aren’t just a backing track and the real win of this show is the concept of having “the boys” present on stage as a kind of chorus, singing the relevant song while characters accept them as mere radio play. There’s great entertainment in this – particularly when the band get intrusive, with Kym Marsh’s character having a great moment of reprimand with them. And the band (Kalifa Burton, Jamie Corner, Archie Durrant, Regan Gascoigne and Alexanda O’Reilly) are predictably charming, multi-talented and a totally endearing force, with Durrant being the standout for choreography and O’Reilly for vocals. Aaron Renfree’s choreography is a nostalgic treat and hammers home all those 90’s moves, air clutching and feet swooshing included.

Rob Casey’s lighting designs are fantastic, taking us to a full blown concert for two minutes of musical interlude before simmering back down to reality. Lucy Osborne’s costume designs have stolen a few of my looks from teen years and brings back combat trousers with flair… Her set designs are also a strong feature, providing poignant visuals of the young and mature characters as mirror images and swiftly transforming to conjure a range of spaces.

All in all, this is a very enjoyable show – the Take That numbers are generous and the performances – both musical and narrative – are just as generous. There’s a bit of questionable humour and Act 2 has a sense of dual endings and misses a neater finish perhaps, but if you fancy nostalgia, humour and heart, this is a safe bet.

Greatest Days is at Leeds Grand Theatre until November 25th 2023 – more information and tickets can be found here.