Military Wives - The Musical at York Theatre Royal Review
Written by Adam Ryan for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Most of us will already be familiar with the Military Wives in some capacity. Whether that be a personal connection to the British military; the choir’s Christmas chart battle against Little Mix in 2011; or even the more recent film adaptation in 2019 starring Kristen Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan.
Fast forward to 2025 and the world premiere of Military Wives –The Musical, produced by York Theatre Royal, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Buxton Opera House. BAFTA award winning Debbie Isitt, has written the musical as a standalone creation taking inspiration from the film and the Gareth Malone documentary.
As the show begins, we see 7 women saying goodbye to their loved ones; their partners are being deployed once again. We are introduced to Olive, played by the dynamic Bobbie Little, who is the brainchild for the idea of starting a military choir to unite the wives. Through the course of the musical, we follow the ladies' individual stories and how the use of community, love and togetherness unite to overcome hardship.
Olive (Bobbie Little) is the glue that holds everyone’s stories together and is performed with a warmth whilst supported by soaring vocals. Krissy (Rachael Wooding) and Jenny (Jessica Daley) bring the laughs and some light-relief, the humour which is geared towards the Northern audience really sits well with the local audience.
At the heart of the show is music; how it makes you feel and the power of unified voices. A special mention must go to George Dyer (Musical Director and Arranger), who has quietly created a theme for each character and cleverly incorporates them with his live, improvised underscoring throughout. At times, it does feel more like a play with music, which in this instance is no critique, as the show definitely sings the loudest when it steers clear from the cheesy hen-party songs. Would the addition of some original music have been a good idea? Maybe. But this does feel like a new take on a jukebox musical, with originality and heart.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of poignant and emotional moments where we are reminded of the brutality of war. ‘A Thousand Miles’ performed by Caroline Sheen is beautiful and a standout moment.
The scene changes feel a little clunky at times, and possibly the set would have been more powerful if it were less complicated and just used the poppy-decorated barbed wire arches to frame the stage.
The show finishes perfectly with the lyric “Get up, everybody and sing” which reminds us not only of the joy of singing but how community and comradery in perfect harmony can help us heal.
If you’d like a mix of Sister Act, Calendar Girls and Pitch Perfect, then Military Wives – The Musical is the show for you.
Military Wives – The Musical runs at York Theatre Royal until the 27th September 2025.
★★★★
