SOUTHEND THEATRE SCENE
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
    • Main feature writer - Kim Tobin
  • COMING UP
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
    • David Streames Interview
    • Daniel O'Donnell
    • Matt Wycliffe Interview - Million Dollar Quartet
    • Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull
    • Tony Stockwell Interview
    • Priscilla Queen of the Desert Tour - Interview with Emma Crossley
    • Phil Walker - Guitar Heroes
    • Rock for Heroes Review
    • Once the Musical - We interview Daniel Healy & Emma Lucia as we are invited to watch the cast rehearse!
    • The Overtones 2019
    • Derren Brown - Showman
    • Stephen K Amos Interview
    • Geoff Norcott INTERVIEW
    • Diversity and Kev Orkian Interviews
    • Giles Cooper talks about Nigel Slater's TOAST
    • Kristian Lavercombe - Riff Raff - Rocky Horror Show
    • Dan Partridge & Martha Kirby talk Grease the Musical
    • Village Green Festival 2019
    • Lee Mead, David Streames & Richard Foster
    • Craig Revel Horwood
    • Jenny Gayner
    • Nigel Slater
    • Alex Bourne Interview - Annie Tour 2019
    • Beverley Craven Interview
    • Gary Barlow and Tim Firth Interview - Calendar Girls
    • Tom Stade 2019 Interview
    • Karen Gibson - The Kingdom Choir
    • AJ Pritchard
    • Jonathan Wrather - The Picture of Dorian Gray - Tilted Wig Productions
    • Kevin Clifton & Graziano Di Prima Interview - Burn the Floor
    • Elesha Paul Moses Interview - Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It?
    • Juliet Mills & Maxwell Caulfield Interview
    • Juliet Mills Interview
    • Holly Liburd - The Bodyguard
    • Alexandra Burke - The Bodyguard
    • Janine Duvitski Interview
    • Matthew Kelly & David Yelland
    • Aled Jones Interview
    • Quadrophenia Live Interview with Doug Freeman
    • Diversity's Ashley Banjo, Jordan Banjo, Perri Kiely & Terry Smith
    • Ali James & James Cranfield
    • Ed Speleers, Mairi Barclay & Adam Lilley
    • Rachel Lumberg & Faye Christall Interview
    • Rain Main - Mathew Horne & Ed Speleers
    • Charles Sharman-Cox
    • Matt Terry & Antoine Murray-Straughan
    • Collabro Road to the Royal Albert Hall Interview
    • Steve Michaels - Elvis
    • Paul Young Interview
    • Joe Pasquale
    • Jersey Boys Interview
    • Colin Blunstone - The Zombies
    • Dave Kelly - The Blues Band
    • Clive John - Johnny Cash Roadshow
    • Paul Opacic & Richard Walsh
    • Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace
    • Alexander O'Neal Interview
    • Kevin Whately - Our Finest Hour
    • Jenny Eclair - Grumpy Old Women Tour
    • Séan Aydon - Great Expectations
    • Joe McElderry Live in Concert
    • Nichola McAuliffe Interview
    • Natalie Anderson & Jonathan Halliwell
    • Geoff Norcott Interview
    • Mark Steel - Comedian Interview
    • Debra Stephenson & Alice Barlow
    • Dr Feelgood's Kevin Morris
    • Ali James Interview - Oh Yes It Is!
    • Tom Stade Interview
    • Sarah Earnshaw - Nativity the Musical
    • Karina Jones - Wait Until Dark
    • The Stylistics
    • Tom Chambers & Charlotte Wakefield
    • Jessie Wallace - Deathtrap
    • Paul Bradley - Deathtrap
    • George Kemp - The Wipers Times
    • Joe McElderry - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
    • Ian Hislop & Nick Newman - The Wipers Times
    • Chris Simmons, All or Nothing the Musical
    • Caroline Flack, Tom Chambers Interview
    • Ruth Madoc
    • Scott Reid - Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
    • Samuel Clemens, Director
    • Elizabeth Elvin
    • Ray Cooney - Out of Order
    • Susie Amy
    • Sue Holderness
    • Shaun Williamson
    • Carrie Hope Fletcher & Oliver Ormson
    • Geoff Norcott
    • Navi - King of Pop
    • Damian Williams Interview
    • Carrie Hope Fletcher Interview
    • Samantha Womack Interview
    • Les Dennis Interview
    • Clive Mantle - The Verdict
    • Stephen Bailey Interview
    • Steve Hackett Interview
    • Alastair Whatley - The Original Theatre Company
    • Paul Carrack Interview
    • Janine Johnson - Back to Bacharach Interview
    • Lewis Griffiths - Dirty Dancing
    • Ben Portsmouth Elvis Tribute
    • Paul Nicholls - Shawshank Redemption
    • Anne Odeke - Night Must Fall
    • Elaine Paige
    • Jimmy Osmond - Christmas Extravaganza
    • Brian Conley & Gok Wan
    • Jonathan Kiley - Qdos Pantomine Producer
    • Lee Mead - Some Enchanted Evening
    • Maximum Rhythm & Blues
    • Joe McElderry - Northern Light Tour
    • Carol Harrison - All or Nothing
    • Paul Cattermole - The Rocky Horror Show
    • Tommy Steele
    • Cheryl Baker - Formerly of Bucks Fizz
    • Gabrielle Cocca from Cats the Musical
    • PJ Proby Interview
    • Ashleigh & Pudsey - Mission ImPudseyble
    • I'm Cold - Alex Thorn
    • Mon Amie - supporting Jason Donovan
    • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
    • Richard Ede - The 39 Steps
    • Collabro
    • The Searchers
    • Fanny Galore
    • Paul Carrack
    • Rose Marie
    • Gary Wilmot, Noel Sullivan, Carley Stenson
    • Megan Terry
    • Sharon Rose - Little Eva in West End's Beautiful
    • Roy Chubby Brown - Britain's Rudest Comedian
    • Fascinating Aida's Dillie Keane
    • Ben Portsmouth - Elvis Tribute Artist
    • Ugly Sisters, Martin Ramsdin & David Robbins - Cinderella
    • Lauren Hall (Cinderella)
    • Michael Harrison, West End Producer
    • Brian Conley
    • Sharon Rose - X Factor
    • The Bodyguard - Zoe Birkett Interview
    • Alex Bourne (Daddy Warbucks)
    • Michael Corbidge Royal Shakespeare Company
    • Ashton Moore - Samson
    • Joe Pasquale
    • Phill Jupitus
    • Michael Sharp Playwright
    • Ray Cooney OBE
  • MUSIC
  • YOUTUBE
  • Features
    • Echoes From Essex
    • Immersive Actor Training
    • Afternoon Tea at the Cliffs Pavilion
    • N-Act Theatre Stage - Village Green
    • Chameleon Productions
    • Sheku Kanneh-Mason
    • Aladdin - Panto Cast Announcement
    • Sounds Familiar Music Quiz
    • N-Act Theatre in Schools
    • Ray Cooney comes to see Lindisfarne perform his play
    • Theatre Etiquette
    • Leigh Operatic & Dramatic Society's Backstage Crew
Picture
Sunny Afternoon
Cliffs Pavilion
20th - 24th September 2016

Sunny Afternoon is the award winning musical based on the music of 60s band, The Kinks, with music and lyrics by the group's lead singer, Ray Davies.  It depicts the group's rise from their Muswell Hill beginnings to eventually becoming part of the 'British Invasion' of the USA and performing at Madison Square Gardens.  Set against the back-drop of a Britain caught mid-swing between the conservative 50s and riotous 60s, this production explores the euphoric highs and lows of one of Britain’s most iconic bands and the music that was to influence generations.  

Having heard all the hype about this show, which will finish it's run in the West End in October, I was keen to see for myself what the fuss was all about.  The production boasts an impressive set adorned from wall to wall with various types of speakers - an indication perhaps to the fact that The Kinks liked to play their music LOUD!  A central runway into the stalls is a novel idea for a musical production and also gives the audience an opportunity to get a close up view of the action.

Everything about this production is pretty much faultless to the point of almost being over produced.   Like a lot of 'juke box' musicals, the dialogue is a little cheesy at times and is obviously geared towards building up opportunities to play a Kink's song that will fit in to the appropriate moment.  This is aided by the fact that Ray Davies - and we are told this numerous times throughout the show - could write about pretty much anything that was happening in his life, practically as it was occurring.  For example, the band are taken to a swanky clothes shop to try on some fancy suits to perform in - Ray writes a song about it - Dedicated Follower of Fashion.  Ray and his wife Rasa are separated a lot, with him working abroad with the band - Ray writes I Go To Sleep.  England win the world cup in 1966, he writes Sunny Afternoon  - you get the gist.

Ray's relationship with his brother Dave is a constant source of amusement as they bicker and fight, as siblings do.  Dave the younger brother, in all his debauched glory, is played fabulously and with great characterisation by Mark Newnham.  Mark, incidentally, left All or Nothing the musical about the Small Faces playing Steve Marriott to perform this part and one can't help but compare the two productions.  More of that later.

There are some fine musical performances also from Ryan O'Donnell as Ray, Garmon Rhys as Pete Quaife and Andrew Gallo as Mick Avory all playing their own instruments skillfully to provide the great sound of The Kinks. Lisa Wright plays Ray's love interest and eventual wife, Rasa, beautifully and they are all supported by a clearly talented ensemble who also play instruments throughout. 

Fans of The Kinks will, I'm sure, love this trip down memory lane and you could almost sense some members of the audience wallowing in nostalgia as their memories were jogged by what was happening on the stage.  This is a rather long winded production (2 hr 50 mins including interval) and regardless of its West End slickness, there seems to be a lack of any originality story-wise; I can't say that I ever felt an emotional tug towards any of the characters.  It's that same old story of the young band who come good, with the usual ups and downs that crop up along the way - inter-band rows......"we need each other, we just don't like each other", relationships getting in the way of progress, management problems and tax issues - we've kind of heard it all before.  

One poignant moment, however, which I thought was going to run through the show and eventually complete the thread of the story was when Ray tells the story to Rasa of how his interest in playing the guitar began.  His older sister Rene gave him a guitar on his 13th birthday and played him a song on it that he desperately hoped he would be able to remember again as, tragically, she was to die the same day from a congenital heart defect.  His sister obviously had a huge emotional impact on his life and we are left wondering whether he ever did remember that tune. 

I have to admit that despite the big budget production values of Sunny Afternoon, I much preferred the grittiness and sentimentality of All or Nothing. Having said that, the show left a clearly delighted audience at the end of Southend's opening night, with everyone on their feet, clapping along to an almost concert-like finale as the band performed, amongst others, their 1970 single, Lola - clearly a firm favourite amongst the Kink's fans in the house and I daresay an indication, judging by last night's audience's reaction, that the band may now have a few new fans.
​ 
For tickets go online to www.southendtheatres.org.uk or call the box office on 01702 351135
Ask the Audience
​

David Perry, Westcliff-on-Sea


"What a wonderful show I saw tonight at the Cliffs Pavilion. The Kinks musical, Sunny Afternoon, was a real supersmasher!!! I loved the acting and I really enjoyed singing along to all the band's great hits put into the story!!! 
It was brilliant!!! I love The Kinks."

Home

About

MUSIC

INTERVIEWS

FEATURES

Copyright © 2015