Viv Nicholson’s extraordinary rise from a Yorkshire mining town to pools winner—and her infamous vow to “Spend, Spend, Spend”—takes centre stage in this musical biopic. Ian Cheeseman reviews the production at Manchester’s iconic Royal Exchange Theatre, running until January 11, which captures the highs, lows and enduring intrigue of a life transformed by fortune.
THE life story of pools winner Viv Nicholson, told through a musical, was intriguing enough to begin with but I was particularly excited to see it at Manchester’s fabulous Royal Exchange Theatre and it didn’t disappoint.
Nicholson and her husband Keith won £152,319 on the football pools. Back in 1961, before the National Lottery, correctly putting Xs on a pools coupon, which meant correctly identifying eight draws from that Saturday’s football fixtures, could make you rich.
Her win would be the equivalent of claiming multi-millions today. She became notorious when exclaiming to the press that she would ‘Spend, Spend Spend’.
The Musical is a biopic that follows her story from growing up in the working class mining area of Castleford in Yorkshire, to hitting the jackpot and the effect that had on her life.
Everyone must have asked themselves, at some stage in their life, what would they do, could they keep their existing friends and family and how would they change if it happened to them?
This show explores those questions with Rachel Leskovac, who was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for her portrayal of young Viv in the original West End show, telling the story as the older Viv with Rose Galbraith as the younger version.
Both actresses were outstanding, but what impressed me the most was the directing of Josh Seymour who conquered the challenge of making a full-on Musical work in the round and in such an intimate space. I was sat on the first tier and I never felt like I was watching the backs of the actors.
Leskovac was alongside Barbara Dickson in the West End, when Craig Revel Horwood choreographed the show back in 1999, and you can tell that this is a show and a story that matters to her. She was born in Bradford, so the Yorkshire accent was authentic and, as she was Coronation Street’s Natasha Blakeman, she was supported, at the show I attended, by Street legends Sue Cleaver, Sally Dynevor and Julie Hesmondhalgh; among others.
The story was creatively told by an excellent cast, though apart from one or two exceptions, the music was merely the tool to carry the narrative, which might explain why it didn’t have a longer run in the West End. I’d recommend it though, it’s a tragic tale that’s as relevant today as it was back then and it’s performed with the quality of performance you’d expect at the Royal Exchange.
Spend Spend Spend runs until January 11 at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. For more information and tickets: www.royalexchange.co.uk/event/spend-spend-spend