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Mamma Mia! - Here I go again!


Anyone who doesn’t know an Abba song must have been living in a cave for the last 40 years. Abba were set for stardom after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with Waterloo. Abba may no longer perform as a band but their songs live on. Mamma Mia is a musical based on the hits of Abba. It tells the story of Sophie who is about to get married. She was raised on a Greek island by her single mother, Donna and doesn’t know who her dad is. Well that is until she finds her mum’s diary and narrows it down to three possible suspects. So being a young 20-year-old what does she do? She invites them to her wedding. After all she has a dream…of her dad walking her down the aisle. Of course, this was always going to be a bit awkward and when Donna finds out she is shocked to say the least. Sophie opens the show with I Have A Dream. Sophie is played by Lucy May Barker and she is perfect as innocent Sophie, so full of hope. Lucy has a stunning voice and gives the Abba songs a lovely innocence as she sings them.

Donna is played by Helen Hobson who is sensational and is the glue that really holds the show together. The Winner Takes It All got a standing ovation and loud cheering it was so emotional. However, it was a shame that sometimes her voice was drowned out by the orchestra. Helen plays Donna very well and allows Donna to be a strong independent woman who underneath it all is still a bit vulnerable. Donna is supported by her two best friends, Tanya and Rosie. Tanya is very posh and a bit partial to a rich man, younger man, well men in general actually. She is played by Emma Clifford and gives such a great performance that I actually preferred her interpretation to her film version. Does Your Mother Know is especially enjoyable beach scene where Tanya shows Pepper (a younger man) what a fierce woman she is. Rosie is completely opposite from Tanya. Very down to earth and practical and a real tomboy. Gillian Hardie plays Rosie and gave the role a lot of humour. Sometimes it felt a bit over played for the laugh rather than giving to the story in general but her Take A Chance On Me was very funny with Bill eventually giving in to her attempt to be flirty. The three Dads, Harry, Sam and Bill are played by Jamie Hogarth, Jon Boydon and Christopher Hollis and are all very well defined characters. This lends well to the story and gives them all a real personality to play with and develop. There is real depth to each of the characters and this really enhances the show.

There are some amazing production numbers. Under Attack opens the second half of the show and is a dream sequence with Sophie panicking on who is her dad. Another outstanding moment is Lay All Your Love On Me where it is the stag night and all the men are dressed in wet-suits and deliver some fantastically funny choreography. Another great number was Donna and Sophie getting ready for the wedding. Slipping Through My Fingers is a very poignant song about a daughter growing up. My mum used to sing it to me and now here I was in tears watching the scene as Donna is preparing to give her daughter away. It is difficult to watch your children become independent adults – as parent we miss the moments we thought we would have. This song captures this so beautifully.

The sets were simply designed but hugely effective. Just moving the same set around made the inside of the hotel an outside of the hotel complete with boat at the side of the stage. The lighting was also very effective and really helped give some drama to some of the scenes.

The songs are stunning and especially when the full cast sing together, they really bring something special to the show. The songs include all the hits you would expect, such as SOS, Mamma Mia, Waterloo, Dancing Queen, as well as some that you may not be as familiar with such as Under Attack, One Of Us and Our Last Summer.

The finale is a spectacle and gives the audience a chance to get up on their feet and sing along to a few of the huge hits. Sure enough outfits are a huge feature and you could not get any louder or 1970’s glam than the outfits they wear on stage.

For me personally, I was lucky enough to see Abba perform at Wembley in 1979, their last ever UK tour, so although I cannot begin to compare this show to seeing the real Abba, Mamma Mia has all the passion and affection for those songs that are the background to our lives.

Go see Mamma Mia. You will have a blast!

Mamma Mia is playing Milton Keynes Theatre until 20 May 2017.

http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/mamma-mia/milton-keynes-theatre/


A Jasmine Storm Production 

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