The Band, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - review with pictures

The other Take That members, plus Robbie Williams, have co-produced and so it’s a winning combination all round.

The process of putting together a band specifically for the show via the hugely popular BBC talent show, Let it Shine, could be viewed as calculating, especially for jobbing performers who have been pounding the audition circuit for ages only to be passed over for a wannabe.

But it certainly paid off and with largely the original cast of the West End hit on this national tour, the chosen five certainly hit all the right notes.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is the story of Take That - it isn’t. In fact, the band in question don’t even have a name. Instead they are referred to as The Boys throughout the show, which hardly matters as their appeal would rival their superstar peers.

They are not the main focus of the show either. The story is a little cheesy so you have to 'have a little patience'.

Four female fans in their forties jump at the chance of seeing their teenage idols again and reunite in Prague for a concert, twenty-five years after their first encounter with the supergroup.

Here’s the sad, sentimental bit though. There were originally five fans but one passed away as a youngster. The girls’ life experiences then play out against a background of Take That hits and the influences the music has on them.

Let’s face it though, this is a jukebox musical through and through. It’s all about the songs and so the storyline hardly matters unless you prefer intellectual theatre.

It is simply a way of stringing hit after hit together, creating an atmosphere where a packed house is singing and dancing along to each and every number.

The demographic is ladies of all ages and husbands and boyfriends who brought the tickets as Christmas or birthday presents. There is nothing wrong with that however - The Band is pure entertainment.

The cast oozes experienced characterful performances which are so good it really is difficult to choose between them, but with two actresses in each role – the youngster and the forty-something – there is plenty to choose from.

Faye Christall offers an extremely natural portrayal of the northern schoolgirl superfan dancing around her bedroom; someone we all recognise, while her older self, played to perfection by Rachel Lumberg certainly knows how to invoke emotion and make you laugh and cry in equal measure. The sign of a true character actress.

Alison Fitzjohn is wonderfully uninhibited as Claire and her characterisation is second to none.

Katy Clayton raises plenty of laughs as the young Heather, while Martin Miller and Andy Williams offer superb cameo roles as Rachel’s humdrum hubby Jeff and Every Dave, a recurring character who literally appears wherever the girls go, respectively.

Winners of Let it Shine, The Boys, AJ, Curtis, Yazdan and Sario were joined for last night’s performance by Midlander, Harry Fabulous Brown (yes that really is his name) who learned his craft at Birmingham Ormiston Academy and grabbed his chance to make an impact on the Wolverhampton audience.

There is no doubt why these guys won the show. They are outstanding, so much so that at times you felt as if you were watching a Take That concert.

For me, there could have been even more music with them performing whole numbers rather than snippets, but that’s just because I love Take That.

Romping their way through Back for Good, Greatest Day, A Million Love Songs, Hold Up a Light, Let It Shine, Pray and These Days to name but a few, their vocals and dancing were top notch.

They brought a tear to my eye too as I remembered a dear friend who died ten years ago, when they performed Rule the World. The show didn’t move me to tears particularly, but their version of that song did.

The creative team on the show have done an incredible job for this touring production, with extensive design and attention to detail on the scenery by Jon Bausor, concert style and mood enhancing lighting effects by Patrick Woodroffe and slick direction by Jack Ryder, who you may remember from his EastEnders’ days, to ensure the production flows like a river - or The Flood in fact.

Kim Gavin’s choreography is so authentic you expect Robbie to pop on in a pair of dungarees and John Donovan and his excellent band definitely deserve a special mention for perfectly recreating the Take That sound.

For a fun night out and a show which doesn’t profess to be anything other than a crowd pleaser, The Band is the epitome of a jukebox musical.

It might also make you think a little about connecting with your loved ones and people you haven’t seen in a while and making sure you Never Forget.

Runs until Saturday. Call 01902 429212 or www.grandtheatre.co.uk for tickets.