“Spend Spend Spend,” a musical at the Royal Exchange Theatre, recounts the tumultuous life of Viv Nicholson, a Yorkshire woman who won a football pool in 1961. Initially eager to “spend it,” her life spirals into chaos, marked by multiple marriages, bankruptcy, and addiction, ultimately finding solace in Jehovah’s Witnesses. Rose Galbraith delivers a compelling performance as young Viv, backed by a solid cast. Meanwhile, “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Crucible Theatre offers a darkly humorous take on a flower shop clerk’s struggles, featuring catchy Motown-inspired tunes and clever set design. Similarly, “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” at the Donmar Warehouse captivates audiences with its eclectic musical style and vibrant staging, presenting a fresh interpretation of Tolstoy’s epic.
Spend Spend Spend (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester)
Verdict: Financial prudence
Before you dig deeper into buyer’s remorse for the January sale, you might want to check out Spend Spend Spend, a musical cautionary tale from Manchester’s Royal Exchange.
This is the story of Viv Nicholson, the Yorkshire girl who won the football pool in 1961 (think National Lottery, Gen Z readers).
When asked what she planned to do with her £152,319 prize money (about £4 million today), Viv’s answer was: “Spend it, spend it, spend it!”
And as any lottery winner would tell you, Viv’s life was a typical car accident.
By the time she hit the jackpot at the young age of 25, she had divorced the father of her first child, married her neighbor Keith, and had three more children.
She actually became an outcast in the upscale city of Garforth, spending extravagantly on cars, furs and jewelry, until her beloved died in a car accident.
Having spent her winnings, Viv opens a boutique, goes bankrupt, marries three more (bad) men, and is eventually saved from alcoholism by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
That’s quite a lot of plot. But our Viv wasn’t exactly Eva Peron, and I’m not sure we need two hours and 40 minutes to forensically detail her life.
Rose Galbraith plays Viv Nicholson in “Spend Spend Spend.”
With her ’60s blonde bob, Galbraith (left) brings attitude and innocence to the lustful young Viv, writes Patrick Marmion
Alex James Hutton is a perfect fit for Viv’s second husband, the doting Keith (pictured together)
The gentle music and lyrics of Steve Brown and Justin Green’s 1998 show could use a few bigger, brassier numbers to make the big bucks. The only song that really left an impression on me is “Who’s Gonna Love Me?” in the second half, when Viv suddenly bereaves.
That said, Josh Seymour’s work, set on a silver disc (which should have a giant shilling stamp on it), is a nice distraction. This is largely thanks to Rose Galbraith, who plays young Viv.
With her ’60s-style blonde bob, Galbraith brings attitude and innocence to the lustful young Viv. And in a nice twist, Rachel Leskovac, who played the role in the original film, plays the older Viv, looking back with regret.
Joe Alessi, as Viv’s alcoholic father, dons a ginger teddy boy wig and pays glorious homage to the unreconstructed post-war man. Alex James Hutton helps convey the sadness of Viv’s volatile life and is a perfect fit as the affectionate Keith.
Otherwise, you’ll need to dial up the song and dance numbers to give them a more choreographed fizziness.
Sometimes I wonder why I’ve never won the lottery, but this makes me wish I hadn’t.
Little Shop of Horrors (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield)
Verdict: Great Triffid
How do you explain the enduring success of the 1960 gritty horror, low-budget B-movie Little Shop of Horrors, which starred a then-unknown Jack Nicholson in a bit role?
It became an Off-Broadway hit in 1982, opened in the West End in 2007 starring Sheridan Smith, and is now best known as a musical. A dark comedy about domestic violence, a sadistic dentist, and a flesh-eating potted plant, it’s clearly not hit musical material.
Still, the film has a morbid charm to it. Our unlikely hero, goofy flower shop clerk Seymour, saves her beloved co-worker Audrey by feeding her abusive dentist boyfriend an overgrown Venus flytrap.
Part of what drives our interest is Seymour’s desire to cover up his enslavement to a plant he names Audrey II.
But Alan Menken’s score also delights as a sparkling homage to Motown. Howard Ashman’s lyrics, on the other hand, provide chuckles on songs like “Skid Row,” “Somewhere That’s Green,” and the cheesy romantic number “Suddenly, Seymour.”
Little Shop of Horrors is irresistibly hilarious and driven by Jewish humor, but Sheffield ditches its American accent.
The infamous dentist scene from Little Shop of Horrors (Wilf Skalding plays the dentist)
Manuel Harlan in a scene from Little Shop of Horrors at the Crucible Theater
Not only is the song irresistibly upbeat, it’s also driven by Jewish humor, none more ironic than the klezmer number when Seymour’s boss, Mr. Mushnik, adopts him as his son.
Sheffield wisely ditched the American accent and cast Seymour as a shy Brummie played by Colin Ryan.
Georgina Onuora could have been more brisk as Audrey, the object of her affections. But her voice has both vulnerability and heaviness.
Wilf Skalding is hilariously evil as the evil dentist, while Sam Butterly transforms the monstrous Audrey II into a vengeful drag queen.
Georgia Lowe’s set design combines a wheelie bin (filled with human cargo), dancing molars, and a box filled with giant tentacles.
And Amy Hodge’s direction packs a glorious finale about plants that eat men (and women). Three cheers as guilt and death triumph over love and life.
- Use Use Use until January 11th. Little Shop of Horrors runs until January 18th.
Paving the way…A free-spirited new interpretation of war and peace
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Donmar Warehouse, London)
Verdict: From Russia with love
Written by Georgina Brown
Dave Malloy’s breathtaking musical, inspired by the sweetly tragic moments of War and Peace, is as original as any other musical in the West End. It’s eclectic.
The indie-folk fabric is woven with searing Slavic strings, carnival-like accordions, heart-rending Les Mis-like ballads, drinking songs, and torch songs.
Don’t worry if you have forgotten the content of Tolstoy’s epic. The first number reveals everything. In a playful repetition of the children’s memory game “There is a war going on somewhere, and Andrei is not here.”
This is followed by a melodious introduction to the main characters. Natasha is “young,” Pierre is “unhappy,” Anatole is “sexy,” and Hélène, Anatole’s sister and Pierre’s wife, is a “slut.”
Cast of “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812”. This sing-along musical is more original and eclectic than any other in the West End.
And it opens with a tired and emotional guide, Pierre, played by Declan Bennett. “They say we sleep until we fall in love.” Pierre cares for Hélène as little as he does for himself. Perhaps it’s the impending comet’s influence, but love is in the air.
Natasha (a giggly, girlish Chumisa Dornford-May) is in town for the first time, and when she goes to see the opera, she notices that everyone’s flashlight-like binoculars are focused on her, not the stage. Masu. Especially Anatole, Jamie Muscat’s grooming, Hugh Grant’s kohl-eyed bad boy with a toothy grin and New Romantic blouse.
Tim Shader’s wonderfully free-spirited work has a cabaret feel and glamor, with the mood shifting from mischief and mirth to misery and melancholy.
Kat Simmons’ grimacing Hélène spills out of her corset and prowls the stage like, well, a cat. Natasha’s best friend, the soulful Sonya (Maimuna Memon), breaks our hearts with her sad songs.
The show ends on a high note of drama as a bright ball of light – a comet – descends, Pierre falls in love and whets the appetite for the next juicy chapter. bring it on!
Until February 8th.
