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Heartwarming performances and a excellent soundtrack as the Take That musical opens at the Wales Millennium centre
When the opportunity to see Greatest Days was put to me I jumped at the chance, being an avid Take That fan during my teens I couldn’t wait to reminisce and re-live those years through the storyline.
Adapted by Tim Firth from his own stage musical The Band and directed by Coky Giedroyc (How to Build a Girl), Greatest Days is billed as “the official Take That musical”. The Jukebox musical that wowed audience in 2017 is back… “back for good”
The storyline is straightforward: forty-something nurse Rachel (Kym Marsh) wins a competition to see her favourite teenhood boy band play in Athens. Given four extra tickets, she invites her closest pals from school to join her, despite the fact that they haven’t seen each other for 25 years.
We are transported back to the nostalgic 1990s, an era when recording your beloved songs from the radio and adorning your school folder with Smash Hits posters were the cool things to do.
Our introduction begins with Rachel, a spirited 16-year-old, passionately expressing her adoration for the band, while her older self, now 46 years old, observes the scene from the present day.
With the impeccable casting for this fresh rendition, we are fortunate to have the talented mother-daughter duo of Kym Marsh and Emilie Cunliffe to bring these two captivating, time jumping roles to life.
The minute Kym Marsh walked on stage we were hooked, and the story of her teens starting in ‘93 with all the references to everything girlie that we all lived through really struck a chord. Taping the TV to record lyrics from Top of the Pops, Smash Hits and marrying pop stars were the most important things to all of us.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”30581″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]The teen actresses who played the young characters were really energetic and created a strong believable bond as friends that the audience really took to.
The band members themselves, portrayed by Regan Gascoigne, Alexanda O’Reilly, Jamie Corner, Archie Durrant, and Kalfia Burton, undergo a remarkable transformation, evolving from enthusiastic young lads sporting 90s-style white combats to a polished and sophisticated manband, effortlessly donning tailored suits.
The 5 men who played ‘the boys’ managed to dance full routines whilst singing and harmonising throughout, and captured the bridge between imagination and reality incredibly well.
I didn’t expect it to be quite so moving as it is, but there was something so very emotional seeing Mother and daughter play alongside each other.
Tears were flowing through both the first and second half, the story line really resonated with us women of their age, a story about friendship lost and then found again, about life’s dreams drifting away and the struggles with confidence and self belief in mid life that only your best girl friends understand. How friendship makes us ladies whole.
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”30461″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]The performers take center stage, infusing the production with their undeniable passion, evoking laughter, tears, and an irresistible urge to join in and sing along. Fans will be delighted to know that the show culminates in a spectacular, all-singing and dancing finale, granting everyone their moment to shine.
It really is a fantastic watch with your girl tribe, expect to laugh, cry and dance your heart out and relive your greatest days.
Greatest Days is at he Wales Millennium Centre until 1st July
Tickets are available from the WMC box Office
Running Time for approximately 2 hours 10 mins (including a 20 minute interval).
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