REVIEW | The Choir of Man, Arts Theatre London
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| © Helen Maybanks |
★★★★★
The smash-hit show that has been widely raved about by audiences around the world is currently in London's West End. The Choir of Man transports its audiences to The Jungle, a good old-fashioned public house that is brought to life in the Art Theatre's intimate space by the community that resides in it. In some pubs you have a football team, others have a darts team but this pub has a choir. The nine-strong cast is utterly brilliant, supported by their equally brilliant live band.
We see established figures of this choir; the hardman, the joker, a hopeless romantic, and the pub bore but each of their personalities help them go beyond the stereotype of a typical choir. There are so many other layers to these characters that really help the audience acknowledge their strong bond.
The audience plays an integral part in this show. Early audience arrivals have the chance to get onstage to mingle and grab themselves a pint with the choir before the action begins. Even when this show gets underway, you experience 90 minutes of unforgettable live covers that have been constructed in a great arrangement by musical supervisor Jack Blume. The audience participation is interjected through the show with free pints and packets of crisps being passed around, even a handful of audience members are treated to onstage serenades from the men themselves.
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The Choir of Man is great fun, with little narrative, the music instead fleshes out the story they are trying to tell. This production unearths important messages about mental health in men and establishes what home is for us all. Most of the audience is here for the unforgettable musical score. Every number embedded into this production plays a huge part in revealing greater depths about the characters. Poignant moments from the musical include a breathtaking cover of Adele's hit song Hello, performed by Miles Anthony Daley with flawless execution.
Other renditions of huge hits such as Somebody to Love, Some Nights and The Pina Colada Song quite literally brought the house down at the Arts Theatre. The Saturday matinee audience for this show absorbed every moment to take in the opportunity to live in the moment.
This cast is astounding (Tom Brandon, Miles Anthony Daley, Daniel Harnett, Alistair Higgins, Mark Loveday, Ben Norris, Tyler Orphe-Baker, Freddie Huddleston and Peter Hughes) and their flawless live band too (Emmanuel Nana Kwasi Bonsu, Jack Hartigan, Zami Jalil and Sam Tookey).
The Choir of Man on the outside doesn't look like much but a good time with great music, but beneath the surface is an ebullient tribute to our inclusive British communities, being together and everything we lost over lockdown. It's a show that would fit perfectly on a UK Tour, reaching more and more communities who need an uplifting, assuring production like this one. There is a real buzz as you leave the theatre from this show and I guarantee you'll be telling all of your friends about it, and booking more tickets!