Manchester Theatre News & Reviews

REVIEW - Manchester loves Mamma Mia! My, my, how can we resist you?

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We were invited to the Palace Theatre to see Mamma Mia! Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder had to say about this incredible ABBA musical...

Mamma Mia! is celebrating 25 of fuelling audiences across the globe with euphoria, sunshine and glee! Seen by over 70 million adoring fans, it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down any time soon. And why would it? With the feel-good factor saturating your soul, it is a guaranteed good night out with irresistible music, a cheeky love story with a twist, and a happy ending! Written by the brilliant Catherine Johnson, our beloved music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame, directed by the irrepressible Phyllida Lloyd, and of course the brainchild of, and produced by the wonder that is Judy Craymer, Mamma Mia had the very best people nurturing it from the start, giving it class, validity, and credibility. Judy Craymer believed in her vision, and even though it took her 10 years to persuade Benny & Bjorn to agree, you only have to glance at the statistics of this show to know that it was worth the wait. The results are still resonating with generation after generation around the world, filling theatres, homes, and schools with the tale of one girl, three dads, and some of the best pop music we are ever likely to hear!

For those still unsure what the Mamma Mia madness is all about, here’s what you need to know. Sophie is getting married and wants nothing more than for her dad to walk her down the aisle and give her away. The trouble is, she doesn’t know who he is! So, following a bit of snooping in her mum’s old diaries, she narrows it down to three potentials - Harry, Sam, and Bill. She then does the only thing she thinks sensible - tracks down all three potentials and invites them to the wedding, convinced she’ll know which one it is on instinctual first sight. When all three men accept the invite without hesitation, Sophie begins to realise they may each be harbouring unresolved entanglements with the island and her mum, Donna, and uncertainty sets in. As the men arrive and Donna sees her ghosts of boyfriend’s past, old memories are flamed and feelings ignited. As the complexities of love unfold all around Sophie, she starts to doubt her own choices, leaving her with more questions than answers. Will she discover who her dad is? Will she find peace with who she is? And will there even be a wedding? Maybe, but perhaps it’s not the one anyone was expecting! Set on a stunning Greek island, bathed in sumptuous sunshine, idyllic luscious waters, amidst harmonious locals, Mamma Mia works its magic as its energy and feel-good factor seep into your soul, warming your heart as wonderfully as the Mediterranean sun.

Opening with a soaring overture of all our favourite melodies, the theatre is immediately fired up for a fizzing night and the energy is palpable. We are lulled into the serene waters of this Greek island courtesy of rippling blue lights teasing us with their presence, and we are off! Sophie sits alone, beautifully singing ‘I Believe In Angels’ as she sets her plan in motion against the backdrop of the symbolic white buildings found in Greece. Designed by Mark Thompson, it is created with perfect versatility, easily splitting and morphing into a variety of positions befitting of each new scene, meaning we are taken from the hotel, to church, or a beach bar with practised ease. The colour palette is dripping with Greek tradition in this beautifully simplistic, yet detailed crumbling paradise, such as rust around the letter box or fairy lights draped intimately into a scene to enhance this idyllic vibe of holiday relaxation. With beautiful lighting designed by Howard Harrison adding to the ambience, we are transported to paradise with glorious sunshine, a moonlit beach, fluttering shadows, and even a pulsating party, island style!

Mamma Mia is jam packed with vibrancy, joy, laughter, and heart-string moments, with an over riding tingle of escapism, transporting you to a world of warmth, love, friendship, and hope. The hit tunes reverberate around the theatre, each one landing with recognition and excitement. With each song you hear, you can’t help internally exclaiming, “This is my favourite,” until the next one comes, and the next one. You are carried away by the brilliance of this soundtrack and the phenomenon that is ABBA. Honest, raw, vulnerable lyrics about love with its ridiculous highs and its gut-wrenching lows, mingled with captivating hooks and beats woven into its melodies. The titular song Mamma Mia, and other songs such as Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! or Voulez-Vous, are huge ensemble numbers that you kind of feel a part of too, full of spirit and togetherness that rouse the entire theatre into a world of effortless freedom. There are tender moments such as Slipping Through My Fingers and Our Last Summer, nestled alongside comedy with Does Your Mother Know, and heart wrenching emotion in The Winner Takes It All. Choreography by Anthony Van Laast is radiant, cheeky, full of humour, an enviable energy, and is slick and precise throughout, and so contagious, you just want to jump up and join in – which if you’re patient enough, you will absolutely get the chance to do! Then you have stylised numbers such as Money Money Money that crescendo into brilliance, with each staccato rhythm being punctuated with accented moves.

Lydia Hunt (Peter Pan, The Death Of Bunny Munro) is our gorgeous Sophie, bringing us a fiery independence, more so than I’ve seen in other productions. This is an engaging performance where, depending on your age, you either want to be her best friend (or partner) or mother her and cherish her optimism and determination. She brings us a hint of playful rebellion to ensure she is a girl who knows what she wants and goes for it. Jenn Griffin (Eastenders, The Sandman) is a riot as Donna. A dynamic, delightful and dizzying showcase of talent taking us from cool, calm and quirky, to freaking out and totally erratic with zero plan as to what to do next! This is a fabulous mixture of a tender and loving performance as a mum, tangled up in the messiest ‘it’s complicated’ love life, giving us two perfectly believable sides to Donna’s character. And when she brings the raw vulnerability of The Winner Takes It All, it is stunning. The friendships we see performed between Jenn Griffin as Donna, Sarah Earnshaw (April In Paris, Little Shop Of Horrors) as the incorrigible Tanya, and Rosie Glossop (Come From Away, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert) as the bonkers yet wonderfully charming Rosie should be everyone’s friendship goals! Not only are they a genuinely funny trio, showing us the layered history and shorthand of their friendship over the years, but they are liberating, loving without boundaries, never allowing the fact that they live in different countries to ever diminish their bond. Sarah Earnshaw brings us a sleek and sophisticated Tanya, brimming with powerful confidence, knowing exactly who she is and oozing elegance. She is one of my favourite characters and I would love to have just an inch of her radiant sass. I loved her performance in Does Your Mother Know, epitomising her own worth, as did the audience, with one of the biggest reactions of the night. Rosie Glossop is just adorable and exudes warmth as Rosie, representing those moments we all live when we can’t quite get it right and nothing seems to come as easy to us as it does to our friends. I totally relate to her clumsiness and she made us belly laugh throughout. Nothing was forced, it just was, making this such a believable performance. Earnshaw and Glossop’s performance of Chiquitita encapsulates their relationship perfectly.

Richard Meek (Rocky Horror, Hairspray) is our loveable Harry, bringing a wistful nostalgia in Our Last Summer, yet flings himself around with a comedic carefree air as he soaks up all the island vibes and remembers who he is. Mark Goldthorp (A Christmas Carol, Sister Act) is our free spirit as Bill with hilarious comedy in Take A Chance On Me, highlighting the brilliant humour on display in this musical, that underpins all the fabulous song and dance. Luke Jasztal (The Bodyguard, Joseph & His Technicolour Dreamcoat) is our lovestruck Sam who brings us a different side again to the emotional heart of this story, with some mesmerizingly beautiful scenes with both Sophie and Donna. The three dads all represent a different side of fatherhood, each equally valid and wonderful, and because of this, you are able to root for them all equally, making it an intriguing journey of discovery as to which one truly is Sophie’s dad. It forces the question of what makes a dad a dad, biology, or love. Completing the main cast are Joe Grundy (Cry-Baby, Jack & The Beanstalk - What A Whooper) as the loved-up Sky, with Joseph Vella and Ethan Casey-Clothier as his friends Pepper and Eddie, Bibi Jay and Eve Parsons as Sophie’s best friends Ali and Lisa, and William Hazell as Father Alexander. They each carve out their unique characters with ease in a cast jostling with personality, giving us clearly defined quirks, endless energy, and essential supporting friendship to their own counterparts. Joseph Vella’s box split jumps deserve a mention as they are relentless and out of this world!

One of the many reasons I adore Mamma Mia is the strength and bond of female relationships and friendships on display, supporting and holding each other up with unconditional love. There is no one upmanship, no one clambering to prove themselves better than anyone else, it is positive vibes all around and I absorb every second of this sentiment, willing more of it in the world. Mamma Mia has the power to make strangers your friends, even its if only for the length of the show. It unites its audience, enveloping us in the warmest of hugs. And on a less sentimental note, it’s just an absolutely cracking night out that will leave you bouncing long after the curtain has fallen, frantically googling Greek getaways, and humming your own personal ABBA megamix as you flit from ear worm to ear worm of some of the best pop songs ever written. Surrender to the inevitable, Mamma Mia is musical theatre magic! It even has its own marketing within the lyrics, “Mamma Mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist you?” The truth is, we can’t, and that is why Mamma Mia will still be here in another 25 years!

WE SCORE MAMMA MIA!...