It’s been a while since I popped over to the Norwich TheatreRoyal but I went last night to see Sunny Afternoon with the boyfriend Ben, the
hit musical based on the music of The Kinks. I first saw this show in July 2015
just after it had one Best New Musical at the 2015 Olivier Awards. By the way
theatre fans, congratulations to all those winners at this year’s ceremony. I
have not had a chance to watch it yet but have heard about Amber Riley’s
performance and well done to Tim Minchin for Best New Musical, Groundhog Day (I
hope this returns to the West End). Sunny Afternoon survived two and a half
years in the West End at the Harold Pinter Theatre. It tells the tale of the
rise of one of the biggest groups in the 1960’s, The Kinks. You have to be a
fan of The Kinks music to enjoy the show I would believe. Poor Ben, not being a
1960’s rock and roll fan was a bit confused; and be prepared for some political
jokes (we didn’t have a clue about them either). I have to admit the touring
production is not as good as the West End production. I am not sure why this is;
it just didn’t have the same feel to it as the London production. Sunny Afternoon
won four Olivier’s in 2015 and the current tour is due to close next month in Plymouth.
Joe Penhall writes the book for Sunny Afternoon with the
obvious music and lyrics by the lead of The Kinks, Ray Davies. The Kinks
classics are all there to be enjoyed by the audience. I love some of the songs
and by the end I would say 80% of the audience were up dancing and the whole cast
received their standing ovation. Lola, You really got me, Waterloo sunset,
Tired of waiting, Maximum consumption and of course the title song all feature
within the musical as well as all the other hits. Directed by Edward Hall;
Miriam Buether designs the set which is very similar to the West End production
with the green records forming the backdrop to the first act. I was pleased
that the touring production has kept the staging that comes out into the
audience so that was pleasing. The costumes were adequate and I loved the fact
Dave was found wearing dresses twice; we all know I like a man stuck in a dress
for entertainment value. We were both confused about the people on stage who were
coming on to give out guitars; I wasn’t sure if this was to make the stage feel
like they were performing at a gig or just to help the actors. Adam Cooper choreographs
Sunny Afternoon and, although not the best I have seen, was good enough for the
show; slightly cheesy in parts which didn’t feel very Kinky. Rick Fisher sorts
out the lighting for the touring production and trust me there are a lot of
lights to sort out as the top of the set is pretty much covered in the things.
Ryan O’Donnell has re-joined Sunny Afternoon, this time in a
different capacity. O’Donnell heads up the cast as Ray Davies; previously
playing alternate Ray and understudy for Dave Davies. I saw O’Donnell in the
role of Dave in 2015. I absolutely loved him in this role and remember saying
he would play a great Ray Davies. Well he is now full time on the tour. He
plays the role really well although looking back I prefer him in the role of
Dave. Mark Newnham plays the role of Dave and he was Ben’s favourite of the
show. I thought he was great too and plus he looks fetching in a cocktail
dress. His hair piece was very strange though and at one point thought he
looked more like Natalie Cassidy than Dave Davies. Both these two have great
voices and were enjoyable to watch. I loved Lisa Wright to plays Rasa; Ray’s
wife. Although not in the show a lot she had such a soft and angelic voice I loved
it when she sang. All other members of the cast seem to have a really good time
and I am sure they have loved being on this tour.
Sunny Afternoon is at the Norwich Theatre Royal until Saturday
15th April 2017. Although the production is not as good as the West
End show it is worth watching if you are a fan of The Kinks, obviously. I was
dancing and singing along and Act two is definitely better than Act one. The finale
will get you up and dancing out of your seats and the cast received a standing
ovation – which is a great sign right! I thought I preferred Sunny Afternoon to
The Commitments but on tour The Commitments gets it, sorry Sunny. Saying that,
I think if you went along you would enjoy yourselves. Sunny Afternoon has
limited tickets for all performances this week with evening performances from
7:30 and three matinees (Today, Thursday and Saturday) at 2:30pm. After Norwich,
Sunny Afternoon goes to Wolverhampton, Belfast and then Plymouth before the
tour comes to its end. Kinks fans should get their tickets now if they haven’t already.
It is a busy few months coming up at the Norwich Theatre Royal so I will speak
to you all very very soon. Please get in touch at my blog or on Twitter
@AaronBurgess89.
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