Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
4 February 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Last weekend I travelled to Manchester for the European premier of 'The Go-Go's musical' Head over Heels.
Right from the start the energy on stage was electric and the atmosphere joyous. It is so much fun!
Head over heels sets the story of The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia - a piece of 16th century literature - to the music of 1980's pop rock band The Go-Go's. An odd but brave pairing! And it worked.
It's very much in the 'We Will Rock You' camp of musical madness, but the performances and songs are so strong the bonkers storyline becomes secondary.
The humour was right up my street (the suitors had 'suitor" on their jackets; the sheep 'sheep' on their backs, just in case we were unclear!) It felt almost pantomime in parts (not a bad thing). The use of 'Skidmarks on my heart' as punctuation throughout was genius. Everyone on-stage seemed to be having a great time and I smiled from beginning to end.
The small cast of 12 is packed with world-class performers.
Jenny O'Leary is pitch perfect as confident elder sister Pamela. Her stunning rendition of 'Beautiful' near the start of Act 1 left me speechless. The vocals paired with the choreography were mesmerising. This is when I knew we were in for a special show.
Pythio the oracle (Iz Hesketh) is first introduced to the Royal family as neither he nor she, but they. This is quickly accepted and then everyone moves on. Just as it should be! Iz's performance was captivating; they stole every scene they were in.
Maiya Quansah Breed and Luke Bayer have brilliant chemistry on stage; both are magnificent in their romantic lead roles.
All four of the ensemble danced their socks off! Their eye contact, stage presence and energy wowed me all show. So impressive!
I did have a couple of small issues with the staging and with one or two of the story arcs near the end. I would've liked to have seen more of the brilliant band - they were so far back on the stage I could barely see them. This is necessitated by the restrictions in the shape of the stage at Hope Mill; it is a narrow but deep space. The actors and sets at the front and on mid-stage are pretty close to the audience, but things further back can get lost in the depths.
Similarly during the finale, Daniel Page was at the back! Boo! Trust me, you want to see Daniel dance! He is a joy, and one of the main reasons I followed the Billy Elliot UK tour around the country a few years ago. All of this would of course be resolved by having a wider stage and hopefully, that'll be the case in future productions.
My overall feeling is of excitement for this show. I definitely want to see it again. It needs to have a life after this run in Manchester. It's so full of joy and bursting with talent and potential, it deserves to be more widely enjoyed.
[Review first posted on Instagram 11 February 2023]
💗 REVIEW: Head Over Heels (The Go Go's musical) European Premier, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester 2023. 💗
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