By Karen Fairweather
The Great British Bake Off Musical, presented by The Gallery Players, had its opening night to a full house at The New Wolsey Theatre last night.
For anyone who is familiar with the popular Channel 4 TV show, you may have wondered how a competition all about baking could be made into a musical, but trust me – the stories of the characters who play the roles of the ‘contestants’ along the way are told throughout the show in a manner that just lends itself to the sentiment and emotion that only a musical can evoke.
The story pretty much follows the same format as the TV series itself, there’s two presenters – Jim and Kim – and the two judges – Pam and Phil (both a fantastic satirical take on Pru Leith and Paul Hollywood) plus the eight contestants who have come from all walks of life to take on the baking challenge.The opening prologue features the whole stage ensemble which moves swiftly into the song ‘The Bake Off Tent’ which cleverly introduces the eight contestants and outlines their backgrounds and what brought them to their love and need for baking.
There’s Izzy, a self absorbed, confident and competitive young woman, and in complete contrast to her, we have Gemma, who is a shy, quiet, middle aged lady who has devoted her life to the care of her mum who has recently passed away. Gemma lacks any confidence and we see her struggle throughout the show with her issues around self doubt and insecurity.
We also have Ben, a police detective who lost his wife three years previously, and who still bakes his wife Julie’s recipes, alongside student Hassan (who is originally from Syria but now lives in Wembley), Francesca who is from Italy and desperately wants to be a mum – and activist and vegan Dezza who complains that the propane gas used in the blow torch is incredibly environmentally unfriendly!
The final two are Babs, a big hearted cockney who has a secret crush on Phil the judge, and Russell, the middle aged gay man who dresses immaculately and has a spreadsheet for everything!
Although the story focuses primarily on the characters of Gemma and Ben, they all have their part to play in this hilarious and heartwarming comedy.Musical director Matthew Snow and his incredibly talented ensemble can be seen just above the main stage to the right – performing impeccably throughout with a fantastic mix of jazz inspired numbers (‘Slap It Like That’ and ‘Bab’s Lament’) heartfelt laments (‘Grow’ and ‘Rise’) and a glorious performance from both band and Pam in a sensational opening to the second half of the show with ‘Keep On Keeping On’.
The show is full of warmth and humour, with great songs, touching storylines and a little peppering of innuendos that keep the show bubbling along from start to finish.
As the lyrics to the closing song proclaims ‘Good things come to those who bake’ – and there’s a whole heap of goodness in this slice of inspirational musical theatre that plays at The New Wolsey Theatre all week until Saturday 26th July… so go and see it before ‘it’s scone’!
