THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF MUSICAL
Noel Coward Theatre
Date: 22 April 2023 (Saturday), 2:30pm
Seats: Stalls R, 3-5
(Seen with Jess and Claudia!)
Notes: When I messaged asking Jess if she'd like to go to a show this weekend (Richard is away for a bike race up near Scotland), she said yes (as she always does!), but that her sister was in town from Australia. So we invited her too! And when we were discussing what show to see, I compiled a list of shows I'd like to see, complete with theatres and closing dates recorded too. And of course it's 30 shows long and covers all the way through to next year! But near the top of the list, because it was closing in May, was the Great British Bake Off Musical. So we snagged ourselves £30 tickets in the stalls.
We all had other life jobs to do in the morning, so we planned to meet at the theatre at 2pm to get ourselves in. In the end, I took the train in a little early and took myself for a little walk along the river and across it to the Noel Coward which is just near the Coliseum theatre close to Trafalgar Square. However, the girls got stuck in a short delay which meant that I was waiting outside at 2:15 and they hadn't arrived! Luckily they got in at 2:20, which happened to be just enough time to get a program and go to the bathroom, taking our seats with just enough time.
Of course this show is based on the show, complete with 2 judges, 2 hosts and cast of characters. A lot of the characters are based on some of the stereotypes you often see in those shows - there is a student, an immigrant, a retiree. But they put a slightly interesting spin on each character.
In this particular show, there are 8 contestants: Russell, Ben, Babs, Izzy, Hassan, Derrick (Dezza), Francesca and Gemma, a last-minute back up contender who joins after another pulls out. The show follows what goes on 'on screen' as well as 'off screen', with drama and friendship and romance, through the different challenges and cooking tasks.
After seeing Waitress and wondering if I would ever see another show with baking related choreography, here it is! Flinging around dough, clapping flour into the air, lots of baking utensil choreo waving around wooden spoons and pans. I love that stuff!
I was pleased to see some familiar faces in this show. They were some of the best performances in the show! Grace Mouat played Izzy, the student who is perfect and thinks she can win and it will create a huge empire for her. I've loved watching her as a swing in Six, and an ensemble/understudy in &Juliet, and it was so great that she is getting a bigger role! My favourite of the other contestants is Gemma, who is brought in as a backup contestant at the beginning (and who I think wins, although they don't say in the end of the show!). She was played by Charlotte Wakefield and I was wondering how I hadn't heard of her before. Turns out that she has actually been playing great roles since she was 18, but primarily outside the UK and on UK tours. That would explain it! The hosts of the Bake Off were Kim (Zoe Birkett) and Jim (Scott Paige) - and I've seen Scott in Addams Family on tour. He was amazing! I think the most impressive performances were Hadyn Gwynne and John Owen-Jones, who played Pam Lee and Phil Hollinghurst. They are of course the judges (Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood) and they do an incredible job of pretending to be them! They captured the vibe of each judge so well and they get great numbers to perform as well.
I did thoroughly enjoy the show - I even inadvertently called it sweet afterwards without meaning to! I'm not sure it's going to break any records or win any awards, but it is that. And I especially liked the main line in the final song: "Good thing come to those who bake." So there are good things headed my way!
