Skip to main content

Review of That'll Be The Day Christmas Show at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

I am not entirely sure why I was a little reticent initially to the offer by a friend to accompany a group to see That'll Be The Day. It wasn't that I would have a problem with the music, as be it 50s, 60s, 70s or whatever decade, good music for me goes beyond the generations (although obviously the 80s are best). Perhaps it was that this show had a reputation for being popular with the grey brigade (although I have plenty of my own grey now)? This made no sense either, as some of our number were quite a bit younger than my 39 years. I think actually the problem in my head was going to a Christmas show on the 26th November. I have absolutely nothing against Christmas, but a whole evening of its music was not my ideal evening. Or so I thought.

It was actually a superb evening of music and comedy, which although very possibly is a little long at three hours with the interval, rarely disappoints. While this is a Christmas show, there is enough non seasonal music to keep it being a festive overload. There are some superb sections which included the Christmas at The Cabin section hosted by a nice take off of the Fab 4 and guests. There was also a quite stunning performance of Gene Pitney's Somethings Got A Hold of my Heart. Another highlight from the evening and a bit of an emotional one was a lovely tribute to the late great Mr David Bowie. An epic collection of imaginary was projected upon the screen during a wonderful and fitting performance of Starman.

As well as the obvious brilliant music, there were a lot of comedy moments, mostly taking off past characters of sitcoms and double acts past. We had Steptoe and Son, Laural & Hardy and a Christmas Carol spoof featuring Alf Garnet as Scrooge. It was all very end of the pier stuff, and often very near the knuckle at times for a family show, but for the best part it was genuinely funny, if a little dated. With Garnet, it also managed to be as politically incorrect as you would expect. I'll leave you to judge on your position on that one.

I also have to say that the production values were impressive as well, with a last group of performers, a busy wardrobe and a very well utilised screen for video. There were sticky moments at times, but these rarely came where it mattered withing the music pieces, as each performer was perfectly selected to capture the likenesses.

I have to say that That'll Be The Day was a pleasant surprise, although looking at its incredible thirty year history of packing them in, perhaps it shouldn't have been. A really enjoyable evening of classic music, brilliant performers and some very nice comic moments. A harmless evening of entertainment.

««««


Performance reviewed: Saturday 26th November, 2016 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.

That'll Be The Day Christmas Show was a single night performance at the Royal & Derngate but continues its tour, details at http://www.thatllbetheday.com/

That'll Be The Day returns to the Royal & Derngate on 2nd June, 2017. 
For further details visit the Royal & Derngate website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Calamity Jane at Milton Keynes Theatre

Should you never have seen Calamity Jane before, as I hadn't before catching it on its UK tour's arrival at Milton Keynes Theatre this week, you may still very well know a little about it by its name alone. However, barring a couple of well-known tunes, I knew far less than I thought, and it was an excellent experience of discovery. The story of Calamity Jane recounts the town of Deadwood and, specifically, the tomboy Calamity Jane, full of tales and daring deeds that may or, more likely, did not happen. When the local theatre owner fails to bring the American star promised to the stage, Calam sets it upon herself to get the biggest star of the country to grace that darn stage. Calamity Jane is, at its core, just a jolly old-fashioned musical, filled to the brim with disturbingly simple but very catchy numbers from Sammy Fain and lyrics from Paul Francis Webster. Some you will no doubt recognise, such as Deadwood Stage , Just Blew in from the Windy City , and Secret Love . ...

Review of Lord Of The Dance at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The stage show Lord of the Dance possibly needs little introduction to most people, as it has become a legend and now, in this touring version, subtitled rather immodestly, 25 Years of Standing Ovations, it reaches a landmark anniversary. Those that do not know of the show would probably well know its spiritual fathers Michael Flatley, and even more likely Riverdance , from which Lord of the Dance sprung with a proper spring in its step. During the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Riverdance hit the world by storm as Michael Flatley and his troop of dancers possibly presented the most famous part of Eurovision ever, certainly of the non-singing variety at least. Here, this touring show brings that same style Flatley created from traditional Irish dancing across the country once again and it is truly something special to see. The concept of the show is simply a battle between good and evil told through dance, and some captivating and stunning songs performed by Celyn Cartw...

Review of Murder She Didn't Write at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Murder She Didn't Write , stopping off for a four-day run at Royal & Derngate on a lengthy UK tour, treads the now well-worn path of an improvisational evening of theatre entertainment. Unsurprisingly, from the title, this show from Degrees of Error's takes a murder mystery as its inspiration, with the story influenced by ideas from the audience each evening. Due to this, Murder She Didn't Write and a review are very much an individual affair. What I saw in my evening at the theatre will differ significantly from what the audience will see the following evening; however, the fine performers will remain. The touring cast, in no particular order, is Lizzy Skrzypiec, Rachael Procter-Lane, Peter Baker, Caitlin Campbell, Stephen Clements, Douglas Walker, Harry Allmark, Rosalind Beeson, Sylvia Bishop, Emily Brady, Alice Lamb, Sara Garrard, Peta Maurice and Matthew Whittle. For my performance, Skrzypiec, Procter-Lane, Baker, Walker, Bishop, and Clements were on stage alongsid...