Manchester Theatre News & Reviews

REVIEW - The Battle is an evocative trip down memory lane

BOOK TICKETS HERE

We went to the Opera House in Manchester to watch The Battle. Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder thought about the show...

Tonight, I was thrown right back into my teenage years as the Opera House Manchester pressed rewind and placed us in the summer of 1995. The question on every teenager’s lip was “Are you team Oasis or team Blur?” Depending on how you answered and who you answered that question to, could result in instant bonding or instant arguments. I was neutral as I didn’t understand the either / or mindset of music, which inevitably just led to both fan bases blowing up at me! But to me, music was music and no one would tell me what I could and couldn’t like. I lived through the intense loyalties and frenzied fights of these two sets of fans and it was mad! Being from Manchester, the expectation was always team Oasis, and proud as I was of my Northern roots, I stood by my instincts of choosing both. John Niven takes us back to a time when record sales were about running down to the shops and queuing with other likeminded fans to get your hands on the latest song. Streaming wasn’t a thing, and it made fans make much more of an effort to follow their idols. Release days were a big deal and when you were pitted against someone else for the elusive number 1 spot – the result was nation wide hysteria! The summer of ’95 was Britpop brilliance and with two completely opposing bands gunning for the same chart position, you have yourselves a passion driven story of rivalries, friendships, and kick ass music. Blur were the artistic intellects from the South, Oasis the real, raw, and unapologetic ones from the North and The Battle reopens the feuding of the era as we relive those infamous chaotic Brit Awards, the chart wars, and recognise that this battle was bigger than the music. It was about power and control. The Battle delves deeper into the behind-the-scenes stories as we poke around the lives of both band’s members and the music executives that played a massive hand in manipulating music into mayhem and madness.

Directed by Matthew Dunster, this comedy lends itself to dissecting the relationships of all involved, allowing us to laugh at their individual and unique qualities, whilst equally feeling bereft as they disintegrate, all for the sake of publicity. It will make you laugh with the clever and witty script that reignites these larger than life characters, leans into the Northern and Southern stereotypes with good humour, and packs more profanities onto a stage than possibly any other show I’ve seen. We are talking the Gallagher brothers here, so expect a never-ending reel of the T and C words as they effortlessly flow with unapologetic gumption. The show is very careful not to lean itself either way in its alliances, allowing us the space and opportunity to connect with and warm to each character across both bands. And just when you are sufficiently wrapped up in the crazy bubble of the battle, reality hits us with subtle hints to world events such as the Bosnian War, a stark reminder as to the ridiculousness of mass stardom verses mass murder. With many other cultural references of the time, I was pleased to hear that the Cantona kung fu kick made it into the script, even if it was through the eyes of a city fan!

This cast are hardworking, a true ensemble, and do a brilliant job of bringing these real-life people to the stage. Mathew Horne (Gavin & Stacey, The Tempest, Endgame) is the music exec Andy Ross who kick started the battle, and is a dynamic force, staying true to his convictions and carries an air of authority throughout. George Usher (professional theatre debut) is uncanny as Liam Gallagher, executing his mannerisms and persona with brilliant humour, constantly wired and ready to ‘go’ at the drop of a hat. He does an impressive job with the twist at the end of the show where he gives a bizarrely insightful, almost Shakespearean speech as only a Mancunian could! Paddy Stafford (Mojo, Too Much World All At Once, Unforgivable) is our Noel Gallagher and brings us a more controlled front than Liam, with an air of believing he is the smarter brother, whilst simultaneously proving this is not always the case. Oscar Lloyd (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, House Of Games, Hotel Portofino) is our Blur lead man Damon Albarn and brings us an entirely different self-assured confidence to the Gallaghers, keeping tight control on what he sees as his band. Will Taylor (The Play That Goes Wrong, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Two Tribes) is the unstable Graham Coxon who we see slowly unravelling as the tensions and stakes rise. He refuses to be a part of the video for ‘Country House’ unless he can dress like a milkman and this nervous energy is portrayed really well. Louisa Lytton (Eastenders, 2:22, Girl On The Train) is Meg, Noel’s girlfriend of the time and Harriet Cains (Bridgerton, Saipan, Half Bad) plays Justine Frischmann, Damon’s girlfriend of the time, both attempting to bring sanity and reason into the chaos. They both feel like an important, and stable calming presence in a show fuelled on flaring ego’s, tempers, drugs and alcohol.

The Battle is relentless with its energy, bouncing around between opposing emotions, and various scales of self-belief, so the characters virtually give themselves whiplash with the whirlwind they are caught up in. It highlights that the battle was way more than we ever saw - a race to the number 1 spot between the North and the South - but a personal battle of each band member involved. They were thrown into dizzying heights with a succession of half-truths, pitted against each other in the name of money, and surrounded by people who didn’t match their personal investments, meaning mistakes were made. Egos were fed to frightening indulgences, but with magnitude comes the pressure to stay there. We see stress levels shredded beyond recognition for the sake of fame and fortune, for it’s one thing getting to the top, but another to be able to maintain your position there indefinitely. Blur may have won the battle, but Oasis arguably won the war. We see how all sense of reality can be stolen and how temptation can be intoxicating, and the result seems to be humble regret. This sentiment is felt in the second half with an intriguing twist to knock all other twists out of the park. We all heard Liam’s promises of what he would do if Oasis didn’t get the number one spot right? So, what if he wasn’t all talk? What follows is a trip that I really can’t explain. To quote Oasis, you’ve just got to ‘Roll With It’ and double check you’ve not accidentally ingested some magic mushrooms! I get what the play was trying to do……I think…….but then again, do I? Think anime Britpop, meets Shakespeare, meets Gary Barlow, meets cheesy topped spoof, sprinkle on some psychedelics and yeah – that’s where we are at! I didn’t hate it, I laughed a lot, I’m just not sure I fully understood how we had got here from what had gone before. But I have to say, the majority of the audience seemed to love it and what followed was a rousing standing ovation, so I’m happy to accept I may have been in the minority with this one.

The Battle is full of everything you’d expect from the mid 90’s - Noel Gallagher’s tap dance with journalists as he holds nothing back and Liam Gallagher swearing aggressively with his self-asserted swagger, Damon Albarn their antithesis, playing it cool in public as if he hasn’t a care in the world, yet privately paranoid, whilst other Blur band members drink secretly, trying to maintain their suave image. Nostalgia plays a huge role in The Battle. The culture, the jokes, the celebrities, the news, and the history are brought to us through clever interplay with videos and animations (Tal Rosner & John O’ Connor). These are really well executed, allowing the story to evolve with a slick pace and grow the cast to a bigger scale than the actors on the stage. Presenters of the time such as Chris Evans and Mark and Lard are given a Beavis and Butthead make over as they are tangled into the growing hysteria. Then of course, there is the music. We are obviously teased with hits from both Oasis and Blur, but this show doesn’t waste the opportunity to set the scene with the other fantastic music of the time, defining an era through the likes of Pulp, Del Amitri, and Take That. Please note though, this isn’t a musical, and so the music is utilised more as a soundtrack. With such iconic looks as both Oasis and Blur had in terms of style, dress, and attitude, Fly Davis has mastered this to a tee. From the Northern anoraks to the Southern skintight suits and duffle coats, and a brilliant set to match, this whole show looks authentic. The set changes did feel overkill at times and could have worked just as well with a split stage to decrease the amount of set changes needed for it felt they interrupted the action too much.

The Battle is not just a show for Oasis and Blur fans, but music lovers in general. I wouldn’t class myself as a huge fan of either band but this proved to be an evocative trip down memory lane, and certainly raised passions for an era where music ruled in a way that simply does not exist anymore. It also brought up a lot of darkness from that time, with newspapers and journalist who operated in questionable ways, and stereotypes of North / South, gender, sexual orientation, and language surrounding disability, all of which were sadly authentic of the time, feeling cringey, outdated and embarrassing. As for the outcome as to who won that number 1 spot? Well, you may know the answer to that one, but this is theatre, and the ending of this play may not be what you were expecting. So, whether you favour “Roll With It” or “Country House,” no one can deny that both songs earnt their place in music cult history with one of the fiercest weeks of battle music has seen!

WE SCORE THE BATTLE...