Spring is the season for talented amateur theatre groups to shine, offering top-quality musicals and plays at a fraction of the cost of professional shows. Hyde Musical Society leads the way with The Band, featuring the music of Take That and nostalgic story set to hit the Hyde Festival Theatre stage from April 9 to 12. Ian Cheeseman writes…
MARCH and April are the time of year when our talented Amateurs present their latest creations, so if you fancy going to watch great Musicals and plays, for ticket prices that are considerably cheaper that the professional shows, now’s the time.
You’d be wrong if you think that Am/Drams simply perform the old standards like Anything Goes, Singin’ in the Rain or Sound of Music; as good as they are, they also, when they get the rights, modern shows and to a very high standard.
Hyde Musical Society, who won awards last year with their production of Jekyll & Hyde, have come right up to date with their latest, which is The Band, by Tim Firth, with music by Take That. I recently saw the professional version, In Manchester, so it’s quite a coup to be allowed to perform the show so soon after.
There’s been a film adaption, which came out in 2023, starring Jayde Adams, Aisling Bea, Alice Lowe and Amaka Okafor and when the show was touring the UK it was called Greatest Days, though it opened at Manchester’s Opera House in 2017 as The Band.
It tells the story of four women who were best friends as teenagers and share a passion for “The Band” who’re never named as Take That, but sing their songs. Twenty-Five years after losing contact with each other, the women reunite to see The Band in concert and that’s where the main thrust of the story unfolds.
Lauren Ricketts plays the older version of Claire in Hyde’s production, at Hyde Festival Theatre, “It’s quite fun to play a character where there’s a younger version of myself on stage too. We have been working on matching mannerisms and rehearsals have been going well. I was a big boy band fan, Take That, Boyzone, East 17, all those sort of acts, which represented good old fashioned pop music and they all performed really, really well. It was easy to listen to and good fun to watch.
“We all sing a little bit of each of the songs but it’s the boys who do most of the singing and they do a fantastic job.”
Michael plays one of The Band members, and his bandmates have unofficially named him the Robbie Williams of the foursome, “Officially we are a generic boyband but of course we sing the music of Take That. I absolutely love the music in the show which has a great mixture of the old and the new songs. I would say acting is my strength, which is ironic because I don’t really do that in this show; it’s all about the singing and dancing. It’s very cheesy and very boyband. It’s so much fun.
“The story that runs through the show is uplifting and heartwarming though it’s also tragic at times. Although the music is front and central the real focus is on the girls and how the music brings them together. I don’t want to spoil the story but it starts nostalgically and develops through the story of the older girls into a tale tinged with sadness. Performing in Am/Dram is so much fun and it’s a very welcoming environment. I think this is my fourth show with Hyde and it’s just such a really nice family feel.”
As always, you can hear my full interviews with cast members of The Band (and lots more) on my weekly radio show, Break-a-Leg and you can see the show at Hyde Festival Theatre from April 9 to 12 – tickets available via hydemusicalsociety.org.uk