Sunny Afternoon? It is with this musical!
The Saturn Herald apologises for this review which is a little late for Londoners – see it before the last week in October 2016 but for others google the site and find out where you can see it elsewhere!! Read on……
This show started running in October 2014 to packed audiences and will continue to run at its current venue – The Harold Pinter Theatre, Panton Street, London until the end of October this year. Meanwhile it will start playing in Manchester on 19 August at Manchester Open House. It is a multi Olivier Award winning show and with good reason. The Kinks story has drawn the crowds!
Part of its appeal I think is that the characters are portrayed as down to earth, real people with flaws that we can all be accused of having, and modest about their immense effect on the world at large with lyrics written mostly by Ray Davies with some by his brother Dave. There is much comedy in the story and Dave’s part is challenging and eccentric at times whilst Ray is almost naïve but well meaning and even when the band go to America none of them will renounce or reject their humble upbringing as Labour supporters in Muswell Hill where money was tight and friendship meant a lot. This caused sparks to fly in the USA similarly as with The Beatles and later John Lennon. This part of musical political history is fascinating.
Many of us regret the stopping of that wonderful hits show The Top of the Pops but it is re-created on stage with some aplomb not to mention the dancing girls and flashing lights and loud music. To really catch your audiences’ attention you must endeavour to draw them in with conflict, loud music or any other ploy to fixate them to the unfolding story and the riff for one of the top Kinks’ songs is made much of at the beginning. Look out for the solo drum performance too – the audience I was with were definitely of the “salt and pepper” brigade but they loved every single second of it!
Songs including Sunny Afternoon, Waterloo Sunset, You Really Got Me and Lola feature and Danny Horn playing Ray is outstanding and lovable whilst Dave played by Oliver Hoare is funny, shocking and definitely OTT. There is a fantastic contrast between the members of the youthful Kinks group and the seemingly very greedy managers who want to engineer their rise to fame and fortune. Inevitably money becomes a subject of confusion and the band end up wondering how to claw back missing millions using legal representation.
A sub-plot is the love affair between the young Ray and his girlfriend Rasa who soon becomes his wife. Her role again is naïve and enticing and with the other female stars in the cast who fill more than one role in the musical including energetic ones with dance routines included (look forward to the “confetti” in the second half shed over the audience) they more than pull their weight.
The music and lyrics for the show are by Ray Davies, and the book is by Joe Penhall. The Kink’s effect on other bands and their writing is legendary and their down to earthness is magnetic and makes people feel at ease. The Kinks and Ray Davies have an estimated sale of records upwards of 50 million. See the show and celebrate their genius. Enjoy.
Penny Nair Price