Skip to main content

Review of Cilla - The Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

I have to start with a confession dear reader, what I know about Cilla Black can pretty much be written on the back of the Derngate ticket that I clutched on entering the theatre (and that allows for the advert on the back). I have heard a couple of her tunes of course (more than once) and confess, once again, that I generally didn't like what I heard. I think it's clear that with her natural raw form and voice, "a diamond in the rough" as Brian Epstein, her eventual manager describes her, she a performer that you either love or generally, not hate as such, but perhaps just dislike. I fall in the latter. Curiously as I a forty-year-old, I also don't even fall into the Cilla of hit television either, being a BBC viewing family, I never saw her on TV much when I was growing up.

So, coming almost totally fresh to the world of Cilla, it was a little comforting that for the first act, much of the world of Cilla - The Musical revolves not just around star building Cilla White, but also the unique music coming from The Cavern Club at the time. I was much more comfortable with the music of The Beatles and one of my own favourites I Like It from Gerry and the Pacemakers (as well as a brilliant technicolour moment of Mamas and Papas' California Dreaming in the second act). Either way, this all eased me into the story more than I had initially thought.

Cilla - The Musical is generally, it has to be said, relatively simple drama, more a sort of US drama gentle depiction of the burgeoning career and love between Cilla and Bobby, than one with stirring sequences. The toughest the drama gets is the truly sorry tale of Brian Epstein (played with great passion and a repressed sort of emotion from Andrew Lancel), a man who potentially had everything available to him, but only because of the love that he had for the clients he worked for. Elsewhere, his life was a terribly sad affair, his then illegal, homosexuality, endlessly left him in the hands of "bad boys", often through choice, and a drug and gambling addiction, which this show doesn't cover, also left his life a sorry state.

There is a drama curve involving Cilla of course, her growing passion for Bobby, and a brief sequence where she asks him to "move out of her eyeline" as he is distracting her, offers for a brief period a tough Cilla, but it generally doesn't build any tension, despite it all being brilliantly performed by the cast.

That cast is led by a simply incredible performance by Kara Lily Hayworth, who perfects the Liverpudlian accent, and creates a nice characterisation of Cilla, during the acting part of the play at least. It has to be said though that Hayworth doesn't quite get the delivery, in both vocal and articulation of Cilla during the songs. However, having said that, personally, I preferred this, and having listened to the originals, I would boldly say that her performance of Anyone Who Had a Heart is much the stronger, although a live performance always beats a recording anyway. It certainly is an incredible moment, by far the best of the show, and wholeheartedly deserved one of the strongest mid-show rounds of applauses I have heard.

Hayworth is ably supported by a lovely and endearing performance from Carl Au as Bobby, from his cheeky chappy arrival at The Cavern to his nice portrayal of the love and career torn person he becomes. It's a shame though, that you don't get to hear his also amazing singing voice to a great extent until the second act.

Pauline Fleming as Big Cilla and Neil MacDonald as John, have great fun, which is translated to the audience, as Cilla's parents. MacDonald is especially brilliant, often creating as much of a laugh from just a look, than from any scripted line.

There is a lot of great support from the rest of the cast, I loved Michael Hawkins' John Lennon, creating his persona gloriously and delivering his "Cyril"'s with some nice relish and great humour. There was also a brilliantly, albeit brief scene with a well depicted Ed Sullivan from Alan Howell, I believe, although this is uncredited.

Production wise it is a relatively pacy affair, with scene changes swift and clean, although with parts of the set lingering in view in the wings, perhaps this speed is achieved at a small cost. There was one awkward moment also, where a quiet and particularly dramatic scene between Bobby and Kenny, was overshadowed by rather a lot of noise going on off-stage, which was a shame.

Cilla - The Musical is not quite the show that is could have been, if it all was to be up to the standard of that one forever lingering Anyone Who Had a Heart moment, this would rightfully be a five-star show. However, as it is, it never achieves that moment again and certainly hadn't before, so it just ends up at times being just a relatively shallow joining the dots show. It's all entertaining enough, and I doubt that many musical fans would leave overly disappointed, and Cilla fans are almost certain to lap it up. For the more casual theatre-goer though, perhaps they might leave a tad disappointed.

Light on drama, but offering some wonderful music snippets from the sixties.
⭐⭐½

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 20th February 2018 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.
Cilla - The Musical runs at the Royal & Derngate until Saturday 24th February 2018 before continuing its tour. Tour details at cillathemusical.com

For further details about the Royal & Derngate see their website at royalandderngate.co.uk

Photos: Matt Martin

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Review of Immune by R&D Youth Theatre at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The cover note for the script of Oladipo Agboluaje's Immune describes it as "a challenging science fiction play with a large cast", and the word challenging in this case is not a lie. This is a fast paced, multi-cast changing script which leaves little room for error for its young cast in the performance. If the script isn't enough to handle for the young performers, director Christopher Elmer-Gorry and designer Carl Davies have made the situation even more complex for the actors with the set and stage work. Having to manhandle great panels on wheels and a huge cube, which also splits in two occasionally, during scene changes requires skill, coordination and cooperation of a high level. As if all this is not enough, the actual story is epic enough for the relatively small stage of the Royal. Attempting to form an apocalyptic world (albeit only happening in Plymouth) offers challenges in itself, but Agboluaje's script does that in a sort of apocalypse in the teac...

Review of Only Fools and Horses - The Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The classic BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses , created by John Sullivan and running for 22 years, holds a fond spot in the hearts of many. Even if you are not a fan, most are slightly familiar with the exploits of wheeler-dealer Del Boy and his lanky brother Rodney. However, who could think this could be the subject of a hit musical? Well, it turns out that Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan, the son of the original writer, did, and it has to be said, in Del Boy lingo, it's proper lovely jubbly! Bringing iconic characters to the stage that the same actors have played for so many years presents a challenge to any performer; however, without exception, director Caroline Jay Ranger and her team have assembled a stellar cast. Leading the action is, of course, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, played by Sam Lupton with all the energy and wideboy manner of the legendary David Jason. Lupton looks the part, sounds the part, even, of course, in song, but even manages to add his own charm to ...