The Choir of Man

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relaxed at the theatre. Watching The Choir of Man at Lowry felt like spending an evening at my local, getting comfortable and enjoying the company while someone else got the drinks in. There’s something lovely about a show that makes you feel so welcome, and by the end of the evening I was quite happy to stay for another round.

Our local for the night is The Jungle, a pub where a group of men from different walks of life come together to sing. There isn’t a traditional storyline with a clear beginning, middle and end. Instead, we spend time getting to know the people who gather here, what brings them through the door and why being part of this choir means so much to them. Their friendship, and the enjoyment they get from singing together, is what holds the evening together.

When you go to the pub, you don’t need everyone’s life story to enjoy their company so I loved that this was the take on the story behind the show. You might know what they do for work or a little about their family, but often you’re simply there to have a chat and a nice evening together. The Choir of Man captures that brilliantly. We learn enough about these men to feel familiar with them, without needing a complicated plot to give us a reason to care. Before long, they feel like the regulars you’d be pleased to see when you walk through the door.

The set has all the familiar details of a traditional local, with dark wooden panelling, patterned wallpaper and pictures dotted around the walls. Colourful stained glass panels sit behind the bar, while the piano, tables and stools make it feel like a pub you could happily settle into for the evening. The cast make themselves completely at home, gathering around the tables and even getting up on the furniture. It gives The Jungle plenty of character, and you can see why this lot keep coming back.

That welcome starts before the show itself, with audience members invited up to the working bar on stage for a drink. The Jungle is somewhere we’re encouraged to join in, and having people gathered around the bar immediately gives it the feeling and buzz of a proper pub. It’s a simple idea, but seeing the space being used in this way makes such a difference. The cast keep that hospitality going throughout the performance, occasionally heading into the audience with pints, making sure the people out front are having a good night too.

Of course, most locals would struggle to put together a choir quite like this one. Every member of the cast has a stunning voice, and the harmonies are second to none. There’s a real pleasure in hearing them sing together, with each voice bringing something different while fitting beautifully into the group. For all the easy going atmosphere, the quality of the singing is outstanding, and it’s this that makes the evening feel so special. They’re the band members too, playing instruments to bring the song to life whether it’s a guitar or even a recorder. 

The Jungle regulars include Sam Walter (The Choir of Man, Kinky Boots, Cinderella), Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi (Beauty and the Beast, The Second Woman, The Wind in the Willows), Jack Skelton (My Fair Lady, Aladdin, The Choir of Man)and Joshua Lloyd (Chicago, The Lion King, The Choir of Man). Joining them are Gustav Melbardis (The Choir of Man, Rent, Cabaret), Niall Woodson (The Choir of Man, Frankie’s Guys, Me and My Shadow), Lewis Dragisic (The Choir of Man, Twelfth Night, The Star That Fell From the Sky), Aaron Pottenger (The Choir of Man, Ragtime, The Sound of Music) and Ben Mabberley (Calamity Jane, Blood Brothers, Footloose). Together, they’re a brilliant company, making the friendship between these very different personalities feel easy and familiar. Everyone brings something to the group, and the enjoyment of being together comes through as strongly as the vocals.

The music covers a huge range, with hits from artists including Queen, Adele, Sia, Guns N’ Roses and Katy Perry. It’s the sort of selection that gives different generations something to recognise, making it easy to imagine coming along with your mates, your parents or a mixture of both. Familiar songs take on a different feel through the choir’s arrangements, and hearing those voices come together was easily one of my favourite things about the show.

I also never thought I’d come away from a theatre trip wanting to rave about the interval, but here we are. This was the most fun interval I’ve experienced. There was singing, audience members up dancing and even the odd game for the chance to win a free pint. The bar was open again, and the whole thing felt like a continuation of the evening rather than a pause in it. Nobody seemed in any hurry for the fun to stop, and it kept that lovely atmosphere going right through the break.

What stayed with me most was how well the show captures the feeling of relaxing with your mates after a long week. People with different lives and personalities find a place where they can enjoy being together, and we get to share that with them for a couple of hours. You can feel how much the cast enjoy creating that atmosphere, and their warmth makes it very easy to settle in.

The Choir of Man is two hours of pure joy, with glorious voices and the warm welcome of a favourite local. It’s at Lowry until Saturday 17 October, and if you fancy an evening of brilliant music and good company, pull up a chair. Grab a pint, open a packet of crisps and get yourself to The Jungle.

WE SCORE THE CHOIR OF MAN...

Wow!  What a show!  Going back to work after a long bank holiday weekend is not always the easiest, but when you end your day with the smash hit show The Choir Of Man, you can be forgiven for thinking you’re still on your jollies and having the best celebration ever!  I have been looking forward to this show for so long and I was not disappointed.  As you are welcomed into the theatre by a cast of new friends, you immediately absorb the positivity bouncing around and feel like you have come home.  You have the opportunity to go up on the stage ad be absorbed into the world of this pub known as The Jungle, where you can mingle with audience members and the cast themselves.  It creates a unique and exciting atmosphere from the off, and as a theatre nerd I was personally bouncing that I was stood on the Manchester Opera House stage, looking out into the brimming audience.  What an experience in itself!  Making its own rules, this high energy, feel good production nestles nicely between being a musical, a gig, and a friendly pub, always ready with a song for every occasion.  It is all of the above yet it is none of the above, entirely its own breed of fabulousness.  With a charming ensemble belting out incredible harmonies of an eclectic mix of banging tunes, there really is something for everyone.  Add into that poetry, philosophy, tap dancing, musicians, jokes, and the most uplifting singing, and a safe space is captured in which difficult issues can be approached through the comforts of friendship that encourage us to be vulnerable with each other.  No one ever thinks it will be them needing help.  Until it is.  And so this show interweaves the hidden and personal conversations alongside comradery, beer, and bloomin’ good music, showing just how powerful, strong, and life saving talking can be.

The Choir Of Man introduces us to a cast full of personality, unique skills, and epic talent.  As you are welcomed into The Jungle - the best singing pub ever – it is immediately clear that this show does things its own way.  It has a working bar on stage where audience members can go and swap their tokens (bought at the theatre’s actual bar) for a fresh pint on stage, interact with the cast, and perhaps even have the cast pop into the audience and bring you a bevvy or two!  Beer mats and crisps are also flung out into the audience just for fun.  You will then be beguiled with rousing songs, worldclass wordsmiths, sensational instrumentalists, and off the scale dancing.  The Choir Of Man is brewed to perfection.  The over riding vibe is of friendship and connectivity, and even the audience were happily chatting with strangers with ease and no discomfort, just happiness and relaxation.  That is a gift, and one I hope we can all carry forward long after the show has finished.  What gives the sense of community being offered authenticity, is the cast themselves, clearly in tune with each other and fully alive with the joy of the show.  The enthusiasm is palpable, real and raw and you are never kept on the outside of it but offered it as your own from the moment you step foot in the theatre.  It gave me a similar feeling to when theatres were reopened again after the pandemic lockdown, and that sheer and genuine appreciation of what we have without taking it for granted.  Yes, this is a rehearsed show, but there is also a purity and genuine interaction with new audience members every single performance, keeping this cast fresh, real and honest.

The collection of characters consists of archetypal roles that give us a cross section of The Jungle’s community.  Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi is the Poet and our narrator and guide.  He does an incredible job of engaging us to listen to his stories and messages amongst all the fun, and delivers them with such authenticity, charm, and warmth that you are more than happy to be led through this new world by him.  Rob Godfrey is the Beast and is often found beautifully strumming away at his guitar, even serenading an audience member with a cheeky charm and twinkly sparkle of mischief in his eye.  Niall Woodson was our Barman tonight, and belted out some incredible songs with vocals that killed it, all the while ensuring everyone was kept topped up with drinks.  Ben Mabberley is the Joker, always ready to wind someone up with loving fun, and really took his moment to shine with brilliant energy as he bounded around the tables.  Gustav Melbardis is the Maestro and has such high octane energy that its contagious.  He led many a song on piano, had a huge personality and brought the house down time and time again.  Aaron Pottenger is the Bore and was anything but.  A stunning voice, he also brought us humour and somehow managed to sing a beautiful ballad, whilst interacting with an audience member, whilst trying to build a stacked house of cards!  Talk about multi-tasking!  Jack Skelton is the Handyman and seemed to be everywhere all at once, singing, dancing, playing instruments, handing pints out to audience members, and providing incredible harmonies.  Oh yes, and he tap danced the heck off that stage!  What a dancer and it was brilliant to watch.  Levi Tyrell Johnson is the Hard man yet was still able to open up and show us his caring, sensitive side which felt like a really important message and theme of the show.  He had a great solo with a voice that was raw and incredible.  Sam Walter is the Romantic, full of charm, love, yet a deep hurt lingering underneath as he pretends he’s ok when he isn’t, and we see this come out in song, a brilliant moment as the rest of the pub watch the football match, choreographed beautifully to song, blissfully unaware of the pain and anguish he is going through.  A final shout out to Sam Ebenezer, swing and music captain, who came on stage at the end for a very special moment to conduct and lead several Manchester choirs who were situated throughout the audience, as they joined the cast in singing ‘Chandelier’ acapella.  This was a stunning moment and one he led into our memories.

Directed by Nic Doodson, each performer has been allowed to play out their strengths and rejoice in their individual talents.  The show is structured and framed around the individuals, with monologue writer Ben Norris really using their own experiences to offer us genuine and profound insights.  This is ever present in the section when Nimi leads us through a monologue about home and what it means to each cast member, and with a couple of Manchester and Northern performers in tonights cast, it really packed a heartfelt punch.  The performers use their own names too, making the connection even more honest, and the whole creative team have combined to basically demolish the theatre’s fourth wall and give us an honest access to the show in a way that doesn’t exist anywhere else.  You will hear well known songs given a new lease of life by music supervisor and orchestrator Jack Blume, and perhaps even make you fall head over heels in love with songs that in their original form just made you feel “eh, it’s ok.”  There really is something for everyone with music ranging from Queen to Guns N’ Roses, Adele, Sia, Avicii, Katy Perry, Paul Simon and Luther Vandross.  Everyone will of course have their favourite moments, and each song comes with its own merit.  ‘Teenage Dream’ and ‘Chandelier’ reinvent the songs into stunning new arrangements and truly show off the amazing harmonies on display.  ‘500 Miles’ starts out in the same vein, totally new, before breaking into an audience bouncing, theatre shaking party!  Then there are the others that bring the house down with an electric party atmosphere and make you forget all your woes and just live in the moment, bringing the theatre together as one such as ‘Escape (The Pina Colada Song)’, ‘500 Miles’, ‘Some Nights’.  The choreography with pint glasses in ‘Some Nights’ is genius!  Watch out for that one! 

Other songs will no doubt hold personal meaning to many people, and for me ‘The Impossible Dream’, and ‘You’re The Voice’ fit this category, and held my heart in their hands.  But the one song that is still floating around my heart is the one song I didn’t actually know – ‘The Parting Glass.’  This is a hauntingly beautiful, bittersweet, and fitting end to the show, giving everyone time to reflect on loved ones or friends no longer in our lives.   The Choir Of Man is without doubt a show like no other and for all the high energy, fun filled frolics, it has a huge heart bursting with the value and importance of friendship, connection, and awareness.  The Choir Of Man is a triumph of talent that embraces everyone as family.  It has one arm raised high to clunk your pint with a rousing ‘cheers’ and the other firmly around your shoulders reassuring you that there is always hope.  This show isn’t trying to be like anything else.  It follows its own path.  So don’t expect a typical musical.  Don’t expect deep character development or a story full of plot twists.  That’s not what it is or claims to be.  The Choir Of Man is an experience.  It is a pint pot brimming with joy and happiness.  It is 9 performers on stage working their magic to give you a good night out and rejoice in friendship.  And that, my friend, is worth drinking to.  Cheers!   

WE SCORE THE CHOIR OF MAN...

Watch our "In Conversation with Nimi Owoyemi" video, discussing the show