A new musical comedy celebrating a much loved British television classic with an all-star West End cast and incredible, catchy music this is a theatre treat not to be missed and was so much fun, well worth seeing.
This musical is refreshing and isn't you're average episode of the TV show, this musical theatre spin off is very funny, creative as well as being imaginative and heart-warming to really engage the audience through the production.
Presenters:
Scott Paige who played Jim and Jaye Jacobs who played Kim presented this musical show together throughout the production and were both very funny and entertaining and got the audience excited to begin the Bake Off.
Paige was a big personality on stage as Jim and his character kept the audience engaged as one of the presenters with his hilariously funny costumes. Paige was a contestant on series 3 of reality TV show The Circle in 2021 on Channel 4, the same channel as Bake Off. What's lovely is this is a super talented cast who have made appearances across stage and screen so don't be surprised if any of the cast members look familiar to you.
Contestants:
The contestants did have their own individual moments which was great to see but the two contestants who I liked the most were Babs played by Claire Moore and Izzy played by Simbi Akande, well done to all the other actors who played the contestants too as they were all really good and were the most important part of the show as you haven't got a bake off without contestants.
The judges:
Oh my goodness, the judges were absolutely incredible. I couldn't believe how much the judges Pam Lee played by Rosemary Ashe and Phil Hollinghurst played by John Owen-Jones really looked like Prue Leigh and Paul Hollywood who are the actual judges on the TV show and I think this gripped the audience because it came across believable and relatable.
Pam's vibrant costumes were very much in the style of the way Prue dresses when she judges on TV. If the audience had seen actors playing the judges who didn't look like the actual judges from the televised version of Bake Off it wouldn't have been so convincing so this musical did a really good job casting the judges.
You could really feel the on stage chemistry between Pam and Phil with their stand out moments especially when they performed the musical number together "I'd Never Be Me Without You" - Pam & Phil. They both brought operatic elements into this musical number so it was lovely to see their mix of talents showcased.
Conclusion:
A feel good, heart-warming musical so if you like Bake Off or perhaps you know someone who does let them know about this fresh musical theatre adaptation of this British classic of a TV show.
After reflecting this show I give Great British Bake Off: The Musical an overall 4/5 stars but I must commend the super talented cast members who were all outstanding and brought the show together, they all received a lovely appreciation at the end of the performance with the crowd standing up and giving a round of applause. It would have been a 5 but there’s a few things that could do with some tweaking/improving but on the whole I had a great time and it was so much fun.
I do hope this feel good musical has a chance to go on tour as more people could do with seeing this show to have a good laugh. I left the theatre feeling happy, uplifted, tired and with the catchy songs in my head so thank you to everyone involved for a lovely time.
Great British Bake Off: The Musical is in Cheltenham at Everyman Theatre until Saturday 6th August 2022.
For more information about this musical and to book tickets please visit: bakeoffthemusical.com
Mark Goucher Productions and Richard McKerrow in association with Love Productions and Tulchin Bartner Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions.
Cast on the press night of 03/08/2022: Rosemary Ashe as Pam Lee, John Owen-Jones as Phil Hollinghurst, Scott Paige as Jim, Claire Moore as Babs, Jaye Jacobs as Kim, Catriana Sandison as Franceska, Charlotte Wakefield as Gemma, Damian Humbley as Ben, Jay Saighal as Dezza, Michael Cahill as Russell, Simbi Akande as Izzy, Aharon Rayner as Hassan, Ariella Elkins-Green as Lily.
Book & Lyrics by Jake Brunger, Music & Lyrics by Pippa Cleary, Choreographed by Georgina Lamb, Lighting Designed by Ben Cracknell, Set, Costumes & Cakes Designed by Alice Power, Sound Designed by Ben Harrison, Orchestrator Tom Curran, Casting Director Jim Arnold CDG, Musical Supervisor Mark Collins, Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh.
Photo credits if used: Manuel Harlan, Damian Humbley, GBBO: The Musical, Maidwell Marketing.
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