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Show: School of Rock
Society: New Wimbledon Theatre (professional)
Venue: New Wimbledon Theatre. 93 The Broadway, London SW19 1QG
Credits: Based on the Paramount movie by Mike White. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Book by Julian Fellowes. Lyrics by Glann Slater. Produced by Crossroads Live, Warner Music Group and Access Industries Inc. - and The Really Useful Group.
Type: Sardines
Performance Date: 21/03/2022
School of Rock
Review by David Hedges
It was an absolute delight to be at the opening night of the School of Rock at the New Wimbledon Theatre to see the cast Stick it to The Man. I defy anyone to be in their seat for more than five minutes and not to be swept up in the sheer exuberance and FUN emanating from the stage. This is the musical’s first UK and Ireland Tour and I genuinely hope that as many people as possible – grown-ups and kids – get to see this production as it travels round, as it is exactly the lift we need at a time when The Man is, generally, making quite a mess of things.
I get that there is a place for telly/Netflix/downloads/cinema in the world of entertainment but nothing compares to the hairs rising on the back of your neck and the whoops bursting out of you of live theatre, particularly in a show so based in rock music. Being kept out of the theatre for so long makes you really appreciate the way your fillings rattle and your breastbone pounds from the moment that No Vacancy, a hilariously self-parodying grown-up band of Bon Jovi wannabes, strut onstage to treat us to their excruciatingly pouty I’m Too Hot For You, and you instantly fall in love with the big kid that is Dewey Finn.
The show has exactly the right mix of childish humour – who doesn’t love a bit of belly button fluff-related grossness? – and food for thought for grown-ups. There are moments of real lump-in-the-throat pathos; for example,when the children are released from being the well-drilled automatons of the Horace Green Academy and sing the beautiful ensemble piece If Only You Would Listen. I can guarantee that every parent in the audience was brought up short by that one. The other numbers that got me right in the feels were the funny and beautiful Where Did The Rock Go? in Act 2, as Ms Mullins, the repressed headmistress, sings an anthem to her lost youth of rock music, and, of course, Tomika’s unexpected and haunting Amazing Grace, as the lonely girl who doesn’t speak suddenly finds her voice.
And what a voice. It is always invidious to pick out particular actors but even in a show where the singing and general musicality is off the charts, some voices deserve special attention. Our Tomika was Souparnika Nair, and her voice was truly amazing – so pure and yet mature, with real mastery that wrung gasps from the audience. All the kids were perfect – spiky, funny, pouty, heart-clenchingly young but wise, and so very talented: if all three rotating casts are this good, then audiences are blessed. Rebecca Lock’s Ms Mullins also showed her impressive range – from buttoned-up operatic to beered-up rock chickery – and she still had plenty of room for humour. And what is there to say about Jake Sharp’s Dewey Finn? He was gorgeous, infuriating, funny, warm, annoying, no doubt a bit stinky, childish, childlike, compelling to watch. Oh, and he too could sing!
A great book by Julian Fellowes (a world away from Downton Abbey) was cleverly updated – the kids’ choices of things that got them mad were absolutely spot-on and reference to Piers Morgan got the howl it deserved. The set was eyecatchingly clever – the transformations to and from Dewey’s scuzzy bedroom to the hallowed halls of Horace Green were slick and the huge number of classroom props, furniture, musical instruments and Pilgrims’ encampments (!) were brilliantly managed. Oh, for such a production budget! The live musicians – onstage and in the pit – were rock gods, each and every one.
My twelve-year-old companion enjoyed every second of the show – she gave it SIX stars out of five – and said, somewhat enviously, that all the kids not only were great but looked as if they were having the BEST time. She wasn’t the only one who wished they were up there: the word I keep coming back to is joy, and boy, was this show joyful!