Surprisingly The Band – the new musical by Tim Firth interwoven with a plethora of Take That hits – is not a story of how The Band rose to fame, and their ups and downs. Instead the tale is from their fans’ perspective and shows how, despite what life throws at them, they stay lifelong loyal fans.
‘Inoffensive crowd-pleasing merriment’: THE BAND – West End & Touring
A slender scenario in search of a storyline, new musical The Band at least has a solid gold score, utilising the extensive pop catalogue of superstar 1990s boy band Take That.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: The Band at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for Tim Firth’s Take That-inspired musical The Band which has arrived in the West End for a limited season.
‘Engaging, endearing & entertaining’: THE BAND – Touring ★★★★
Superbly directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, aided by a strong team of equally imaginative creatives, there is so much more to the success of the intriguing musical The Band than one would imagine.
‘Best new musical to hit theatres in years’: THE BAND – Touring ★★★★★
Heart-warming and bursting with pop songs, The Band perfectly captures teenage fandom as Take That’s songs shine in this brand new musical.
‘Heart-warming, emotional, funny & feelgood’: THE BAND – Touring ★★★★★
I loved every wonderful, heart-stopping, minute of this terrific show. Could It Be Magic? You betcha.
‘People wanted to go in & watch it all again’: The Band – Touring ★★★★
In essence you don’t have to be a massive Take That fan (but knowing their popular songs is an obvious bonus) and you don’t have to have been a teenage girl during the 90s to enjoy The Band at all, as the show has a solid storyline, a strong mixture of characters for a modern musical theatre show and you will come out happy.
NEWS: Take That musical The Band is set for 50-show West End run from December 2018
It has been reported that Tim Firth’s Take That-inspired musical The Band, co-produced by Take That, will transfer to Theatre Royal Haymarket from 30 November 2018.
THE BAND – Manchester & tour
What I found particularly pleasing was that The Band actually proves an engaging and entertaining piece of theatre, one that has clearly thought about the jukebox form and how it might be played with.