It may not have as much class, or indeed glass, as the design of Marguerite, but the latest jukebox show Never Forget has infinitely more energy and pizzazz and much better songs.
I’m not a big Take That fan particularly as I’ve recently grown out of my prepubescent schoolgirl period, and as far as I’m concerned their best numbers – “Could It Be Magic” and “How Deep Is Your Love” – were so-so cover versions of Barry Manilow and the Bee Gees anyway.
This irresistible show does, however, make a good case for the talents of the writer/lyricist Gary Barlow by creating a decent dramatic structure – in a script by Danny Brocklehurst, Guy Jones and director Ed Curtis - that may not have the wit or ingenuity of Mamma Mia! but does use the concert format, and some stunning stage effects, to tell a good story.
The premise is the creation of a Take That tribute band – a sort of “Fake That” - by a bullish Mancunian manager, Ron Freeman (Teddy Kempner), who then tempts the Gary Barlow figure, Ash Sherwood (Dean Chisnall), away from the group into a solo career.
This echo of the departure of Robbie Williams in 1995 when the real-life group had been going five years is cunningly worked towards a happy ending, with a reunion of the band and of Ash with his long-suffering girlfriend Chloe (Sophia Ragavelas), after he has succumbed to a hellfire clubland scene and a sexpot music agent (Joanne Farrell).
All the boys have a drive to succeed: Ash, aided by his best mate Jake (Craige Els is indecently tall but suitably clownish in the Robbie role), wants to clear the debts in the family pub; Tim Driesen’s Adrian Banks is a bespectacled loner with an inner demon and a hidden six-pack; while Eaton James’ Dirty Harry and Stephane Anelli’s campy Hispanic Jose both need to escape, the first from the male stripping circuit, the second from his dominating mother.
Curtis’ production arrives at the Savoy with a brash confidence and unassailable technical perfection born of a long nationwide tour. Karen Bruce’s choreography pulsates with dance floor discipline, and Bob Bailey’s design and James Whiteside’s lighting create a superb concert atmosphere with a stage-wide wall of fire and an incredible first act finale curtain of rain – as in the “Never Forget” video – with the show’s title picked out in giant letters. How did they do that?
- Michael Coveney
NOTE: The following TWO-STAR review dates from 24 August 2007 when the production was on tour.
Just when you thought it was safe to see a musical, along comes another one based on well-known pop tunes. I have nothing against jukebox shows; they can be fun and the audience can go on a journey via the songs of Abba or Queen. The bonus being, that some shows feature the music of bands which are no more, giving fans their fix of nostalgia.
Never Forget is based on the music of current comeback kings Take That, well the Nineties back catalogue of Take That, as the band have distanced themselves from this musical cash-in.
Gary Barlow and the lads stormed back into the charts recently with the hit "Patience" - which is exactly what you need when watching this poorly executed piece. Instead of being based on the lives and loves of the band themselves, the narrative (as slim as it is) revolves around a Take That tribute band.
You may feel ripped off but the 'borrowing' doesn't end there. Each lazy scene looks recycled also, with the audition elements resembling the hit film The Full Monty - only this time, you won’t be laughing.
Due to Barlow's extensive amount of love songs, a romance is clumsily inserted as Gazza look-alike, Ash (earnest but talented Dean Chisnall) rises to the top, putting pressure on his relationship with Chloe (a vocally underwhelming Nancy Sullivan). Many will claim that harmless shows like this don’t need a narrative as they are simply rollicking, good fun. Unfortunately, this show is neither rollicking nor fun.
It’s hard to believe that such a painfully thin concept has taken three writers to bring it to the stage. Danny Brocklehurst, the man behind excellent TV serials Clocking Off, Shameless and Sorted, is one of them - but none of his usual grit, humour or flair is evident here.
After a very busy beginning with too many ideas flying around, the show does settle down, allowing for three minutes of magic during the song "Babe" as Chisnall and his band of merry men show their brilliance, all harmonising beautifully. As the stale love story progresses and the unfunny jokes continue, you long for the songs on their own, minus the window dressing. ("Once You Tasted Love" becomes a dirty backstreet number with basques and riding crops and is unintentionally hilarious.)
This is one 'joke' box musical too far. I couldn’t stop thinking: Mamma Mia, here we go again.
- Glenn Meads (reviewed at the Manchester Opera House)
Reader Reviews
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Date
Saw 'Never Forget' last night in Bristol..WOW! Superb!!So entertaining, musical theatre at its best,brilliant casting,comedy, amazing dancers,vitality, energy,incredible special effects..and my 11yr old daughter singing in the finale was the icing on the cake...what a tonic, if want a 'night off' from everything, go and lose yourself in this spectacular show! :) 5* - Lis V, Bristol
25 Jun 09
I was nothing short of astounded by Sophia Ragavelas’ November 1, 2008 performance as Chloe Turner in Never Forget. Her voice was characterized by a full palette of emotional shading without ever straining, supported by incredible power, impeccable intonation and a naturalistic phrasing, the combination of which, simply cannot be taught. The total Sophia is definitely worth more than the sum of her parts! Her combined acting and dancing ability are unequaled, and the overall believability of her performance, was simply eery. One has to strain to look at anyone else when Sophia is on stage, and then always regrets looking away afterwards.
After seeing Sophia as Allison in a Panto performance of Dick Whittington, I promised to be one of the first in line for her debut in Never Forget. That promise was made before I knew that the production was about a 90’s boy band! I am not a popular music buff, and boy bands are for me, near the bottom of what is already a fairly slimy barrel. This is what makes Sophia’s performance all the more remarkable.
Despite the camp, almost pantomime, structure of the storyline, mixed with somewhat repetitive choreography and hard-to-believe sub-plots, I reluctantly admit that Never Forget works on several quirky levels. The metamorphosis of the boys groomed under the tutelage of their manager (who was also excellent) was genuinely funny. The show does not take it self too seriously and as such, I forgave it for the somewhat contrived sub plot of boy has girl, boy loses girl over moral dilemma, boy does right thing and gets girl back after his character is tested.
It was all a bit forced, which I suppose was unavoidable given the seriousness of losing the family pub juxtaposed with music that was much more a forced fit than, let’s say, Mamma Mia. Dean Chisnall as Ash was excellent. I was told that the Spanish character was the understudy, which I find impossible to believe. He was incredibly funny and believable in what is admittedly an exaggerated character, which makes his performance all the more remarkable. I am proposing that a special prosecutor be appointed to the European court of human rights at the Hague in order to investigate what must be a conspiracy to suppress Sophia’s true potential which, for me, is a “crime against entertainment” and propose that the punishment for those found guilty to include listening to repeat recordings of the Dress Circle cows whose inappropriate laughter and caterwauling sing alongs were worse than any other method of torture I can imagine.
Notwithstanding the all-too disappointing and sadly, predictable behavior in the Dress Circle section, brought on in no small part by the insanity of the seemingly endless reality talent competitions designed to usurp a decades, if not centuries-old, audition process, I can say, hand on heart, that with Sophia at the helm, this show is far more value for money than Joseph, Wicked, Chicago and The Producers (now thankfully closed) combined. One technical criticism, the music was way, way too loud at times and must have violated health and safety regulations? I do applaud the staff for at least making some effort to suppress the caterwauling cows in the peanut gallery during Sophia’s most delicate solo. If ALW and CM keep doing their greed-driven reality shows and attracting TV land riff raff, I predict that theatre staff will need to be equipped with attack dogs, pepper spray, stun guns, cattle prods and rubber bullets. If not, they will fill a few empty seats with people more suited to movie theatres and in the process, drive away a much larger silent majority of decent folks who will, no doubt, vote not with their phones, but with their feet.
Very Truly,
Timothy Winey - Timothy Winey
02 Nov 08
Basically a very lame apology of a 'story' that's not a million miles away from The Full Monty, and ends up coming across as a low-grade soap with some Take That songs bolted on, and humour aimed at people with less than half a brain. Some of the cast do the best they can with this thin material, but shamefully some of the leads are very poor - Dean Chisnall in particular lacks any charisma whatsoever. He was limp, insipid, boring and uninvolving. Joanne Farrell as the villainess was, if possible, even worse. I don't care how lightweight or "fun" a show is meant to be, it should have decent casting. Farrell is shockingly bad - as a previous poster said, absolutely wooden - she's a complete plank. She should not be in any sort of acting role. Those two performing Once You've Tasted Love was an appalling piece of cut-rate trash that I will "never forget" in a hurry. Other cast members do their best, Craig Els and Sophie Ragavelas came across the best. The "rain writing" was impressive. Look, I know this is not meant to be high drama. We all know it's intended as a Take That tribute show. But that isn't an excuse for such poor quality. The West End can, and must, do better than this lazy junk. - SF
09 Oct 08
Not really sure what to expect with this but came out pleastantly surprised with a big grin on my face! OK the script and storyline is flimsy to say the least but by gads the cast make the most of it. Of course the songs are excellent. I was very impressed by the band, vocals and general sound levels you could hear every word and were not deafened in the process! I usually refuse to applaud special effects and scenery but the climax to Act 1 takes your breath away and I still have no idea how they did it - almost worth the ticket price alone!!!!! - Steve
16 Sep 08
I took my friend to see this performance for her birthday. I'd been once before & enjoyed it so much that I just had to come back again. The 2nd time around was even better. Everyone was up dancing & really enjoying the show. If I'm honest its the best west end musical show I've ever seen. We are booking again before it finishes with a crowd from work. What a great cast (especially Robbie!!) ha ha & special effects. To whoever reads this, its a must see, go on book!!!!!!!! - NICOLA CURTIS
08 Aug 08
Well... I really wasn't sure about seeing this one. I read lots of negative comments both here and on the discussion board. I also read the Guardian, Lyn Gardner gave it quite a poor review if I remember correctly.
Hey Ho, an old friend was desperate to see it, got cheap tickets and I tagged along.
What can I say... I loved every minute and left with a great big smile on my face. I fail to see how anyone could not enjoy this show, it really is just cheesy good fun from start to finish with some incredibly talented performances thrown in for good measure.
Technically, I couldn't fault the show - It sounded great - every word/instrument crystal clear, the lighting was great - I loved the colour changing bricks and the concert R&R feel, the FX were great - Particularly the Rain. Musically, the band and vocals were slick - some fantastically re-arranged old TT songs that really do sound much better in the musical than I ever remember them sounding with TT in the 90's. Best of all was the dancing, lots of very high energy stuff, some of it very sexy.
I guess it could have a lot to do with the atmosphere - I saw it last Saturday night and it was absolutely electric, I couldn't help but be carried away in the almost euphoric wave emanating from the rest of the audience.
If you want a good night out and are capable of leaving the pretentious ponce at the door, I highly recommend this show! - Michael
07 Aug 08
The songs are great, and the band do a fantastic job of recreating the Take That sound, but most of the numbers get repeated ad nauseum at the finale, leading to overkill. The script and characterisation are so cliched and one-dimensional it beggars belief - no one would have been expecting much depth or originality in a "Juke Box" musical, but this manages to plumb new depths. It's a case of lowest common denominator all the way along the line, which is either an insult or an insight into its target audience. How can a West End show can get away with such racial and sexual stereotyping in the 21st century, not to mention the "Hilarity" of poking fun at how Johnny Foreigner talks, inconsistent lisp and all? Surely that sort of humour went out with "Mind Your Language"? The principal cast seem to have reached a point of believing their own (or Take That's) good press, as they milk laughs, ad-lib and attempt to corpse each other for no good reason in the most unprofessional manner. It's like am-dram Panto come early. I love the music of Take That, but I'd rather listen to a CD than throw £50 away on this flat mess. - Murray
27 Jul 08
Saw this Weds night - if you like cheese and Take That music, it's definitely worth a see. 18 girls in my group all had a great evening. It is good clean fun, yes, a predictable story, but enjoyment all round. Highly recommended.
(Was also very pleased to see it wasn't full of screaming girls like Dirty Dancing was! - Looby, Luton
25 Jul 08
Its not closing its just moving! Its on at the Savoy until Nov this year and then its moving to another West End theatre. Panic over as its the best night out i've had in a long time! - Katie
24 Jul 08
Seems you either love it or hate it. I loved it! - Lyle
19 Jul 08
Surprised to hear it's closing already, I loved it. - A Real Take That Fan
13 Jul 08
not for me, awful script, awful acting, awful singing, won't last long - TheatreKitty
10 Jun 08
What a waste of an evening. One of the worst shows I've ever seen.. and I saw Man in the Iron Mask
Dull Dull Dull
Cheap looking set, all the budget seems to have been spent on the water writing screen, And I've seen that done better on a traffic island in Vienna ( Was an advert / art installation)
Night I saw it there the theatre was only a quarter full, and the only people that seemed to enjoy it were drunk and singing/shouting along.
No wonder they were constantly bombarding you with drink 'offers' round the theatre.
Script makes Ben's Eltons book for WWRY look like Shakespere!
Not Funny, Not entertaining & Not worth the money!
Save your money for take that's next tour.
- Take That Fan
09 Jun 08
Very very sill but great fun. - Toddster
05 Jun 08
Ed Curtis's production is great. A blast of refreshing energy in London's West End. No the story line isn't complex but then it doesn't need to be. The characters and plot serve only as devices and never pretends to be anything more but then it's never going to be appreciated by the typical theatre goer who perhaps looks for something a little more sophisticated (I include myself in this group). The main point however is that Never Forget never pretends to be anything other than what it is, a comic, entertaining, all singing and dancing spectacular with some of the best special effects I have seen on stage in a very long time. If you don't like this type of show (Mama Mia, WWRY) then don't go, as it sits in the same league. If your going to dismiss it as trash because you personally prefer something more 'sophisticated' then go and see something else. However if you want a brilliant night out where the standing ovation starts half way through the second half, where the dancing and singing is high energy and of a brilliant standard, where for 1 night you can allow yourself the guilty pleasure of tapping your foot and dancing in the isle's then go. Try it, you never know you might just like it. - Rob
03 Jun 08
Ok, so it's kitsch and trashy, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself last night. The story is actually stronger than Rock You or Mamma Mia IMO and the songs seem to fit in a lot better than in either of those shows. There's also a lot of really good dancing throughout the show.
The 5 guys gave it their all and all have great voices. I liked the charcaters they created and stayed in throughout the show. The ensemble dance their hearts out.
Add to that the amazing rain curtain effect at the end of act1 and the obligatory megamix at the end and I had a really fun night out. It's no Les Miz or Billy Elliott, but that's not what I was expecting. - Steve
28 May 08
This site seems to be working properly now!
5 Stars X 2 - Thats how much fun I had! - Craig
24 May 08
Chavtastic! I felt like I was out on a Hen Night. Loved every minute, possibly the most colourful fun show I've seen in years. - Craig
24 May 08
This review site isn't working properly. It gave three stars when I wanted one only and that was one too many! so- i'm re-submitting - I so agree Quentin's previous review. I'm not a miserable person either but didn't laugh once. This was children's TV humour and I choose not to watch children's TV. Uter utter rubbish. I too loved Hairspray, how can anyone compare this trash to such a show as Hairspray?? To charge anything over £15.00 for this is obscene. Never Forget - I wish I could! - Matt
24 May 08
I so agree Quentin's previous review. I'm not a miserable person either but didn't laugh once. This was children's TV humour and I choose not to watch children's TV. Uter utter rubbish. I too loved Hairspray, how can anyone compare this trash to such a show as Hairspray?? To charge anything over £15.00 for this is obscene. Never Forget - I wish I could! - Matt
24 May 08
If you Like 'Take That' You will LOVE this Show! - Dave
23 May 08
Now I wouldn't class myself as a miserable person. I adored Hairspray's feel-good joie de vivre, and loved Avenue Q's fun and cheekiness, but dear God, this was poor with a capital P. Nobody expects the "Take That" tribute musical to be Chekhov or Ibsen but couldn't they have come up with something even remotely interesting for a plot? A seven year-old child could have come up with a better storyline, more three dimensional characters and more believable dialogue than "Never Forget" presents us with. True, the special effects are spectacular, there are some great vocal performances and lots of cash has obviously been thrown at it, but to be brutally honest, I was bored. Where "Mamma Mia" has charm, "Never Forget" is hackneyed, lazy and often plain embarrassing.
The central love story revolves around two dreary characters who you couldn't care less about. True, Sophia Ragavelas has an amazing voice, but Dean Chisnall is bland and utterly lacking in either acting ability or charisma (so actually maybe not such a bad choice to play the show's "Gary Barlow"!)
The opening scenes set up some mildly interesting scenarios: will "Robbie" end up with the fat bridesmaid with whom he clearly has some unresolved issues and sexual tension? How will weedy "Mark" (he wears glasses and works in a bank so he's the geek - that's about the level of sophisitication were looking at here...) deal with his marital problems? What insights will we get into the life of the clearly gay stripper "Howard"? Well, actually - nothing at all.
There's a potentially interesting story to be found here, but the writers can't decide whether their "Take That" are an amazing tribute act or just rubbish. Their manager makes no mention of the fact that when "Robbie" arrives to audition, he's actually about seven foot tall. And although they're a struggling group of performers - they actually have backing dancers! A little more of the "Full Monty" angle would have made the show far more compelling.
The performers struggle as well as they can with the dross they have to work with, although Joanne Farrell fails to inject any life into the piece's villainess Annie, and is just plain wooden. And Tim Driesen sports quite possibly the most bizarre version of a Northern accent you're ever likely to hear on a London stage. I pitied poor Teddy Kempner, who really deserves better material than this. The casting of the girls in the chorus however was spot on: all of them completely convincing as the terrifying sort of rough Northern girls who you see going out clubbing in micro skirtsin sub-zero temperatures. You wouldn't want to meet any of them on a dark night! In fact, perhaps the show's greatest missed opportunity was failing to give more stage time to Tamara Wall's "gangster's moll" character, whose facial expressions were the highlight of the evening for me!
So to sum up: "Never Forget": fine for hen nights, but truly a case of an awful lot of sound and fury signifying nothing.
- Quentin
23 May 08
Now I wouldn't class myself as a miserable person. I adored Hairspray's feel-good joie de vivre, and loved Avenue Q's fun and cheekiness, but dear God, this was poor with a capital P. Nobody expects the "Take That" tribute musical to be Chekhov or Ibsen but couldn't they have come up with something even remotely interesting for a plot? A seven year-old child could have come up with a better storyline, more three dimensional characters and more believable dialogue than "Never Forget" presents us with. True, the special effects are spectacular, there are some great vocal performances and lots of cash has obviously been thrown at it, but to be brutally honest, I was bored. Where "Mamma Mia" has charm, "Never Forget" is hackneyed, lazy and often plain embarrassing.
The central love story revolves around two dreary characters who you couldn't care less about. True, Sophia Ragavelas has an amazing voice, but Dean Chisnall is bland and utterly lacking in either acting ability or charisma (so actually maybe not such a bad choice to play the show's "Gary Barlow"!)
The opening scenes set up some mildly interesting scenarios: will "Robbie" end up with the fat bridesmaid with whom he clearly has some unresolved issues and sexual tension? How will weedy "Mark" (he wears glasses and works in a bank so he's the geek - that's about the level of sophisitication were looking at here...) deal with his marital problems? What insights will we get into the life of the clearly gay stripper "Howard"? Well, actually - nothing at all.
There's a potentially interesting story to be found here, but the writers can't decide whether their "Take That" are an amazing tribute act or just rubbish. Their manager makes no mention of the fact that when "Robbie" arrives to audition, he's actually about seven foot tall. And although they're a struggling group of performers - they actually have backing dancers! A little more of the "Full Monty" angle would have made the show far more compelling.
The performers struggle as well as they can with the dross they have to work with, although Joanne Farrell fails to inject any life into the piece's villainess Annie, and is just plain wooden. And Tim Driesen sports quite possibly the most bizarre version of a Northern accent you're ever likely to hear on a London stage. I pitied poor Teddy Kempner, who really deserves better material than this. The casting of the girls in the chorus however was spot on: all of them completely convincing as the terrifying sort of rough Northern girls who you see going out clubbing in micro skirtsin sub-zero temperatures. You wouldn't want to meet any of them on a dark night! In fact, perhaps the show's greatest missed opportunity was failing to give more stage time to Tamara Wall's "gangster's moll" character, whose facial expressions were the highlight of the evening for me!
So to sum up: "Never Forget": fine for hen nights, but truly a case of an awful lot of sound and fury signifying nothing.
- Quentin
23 May 08
If you're a miserable person- you will certainly hate this. However if you are not and you can sit back and relax then you will be reminded that Gary Barlow is an excellent songwriter and that Take That are a great pop band and you will have a great time!! I do not agree with your money being wasted here- how many west end shows can boast such wonderful special effects, music, great dancing, energy and comedy for £60?! Go and have fun!!! - Box Office
23 May 08
If you're a miserable person- you will certainly hate this. However if you are not and you can sit back and relax then you will be reminded that Gary Barlow is an excellent songwriter and that Take That are a great pop band and you will have a great time!! I do not agree with your money being wasted here- how many west end shows can boast such wonderful special effects, music, great dancing, energy and comedy for £60?! Go and have fun!!! - Box Office
23 May 08
Dreadful. I felt sorry for the extremely talented performers. Awful storyline and soapy dialogue--it really feels like Coronation Street the Musical sometimes. And before anyone thinks that sounds like a good idea, there's enough trash on in the West End already. Never Forget just added itself to that list. - Gavin
20 May 08
Yes, it's a tribute musical. You'd have to be pretty thick to think it was ever going to be anything else. It's advertised as a tribute to Take That.
Worth every penny.
I've not laughed so hard in ages.
Some incredible performances, great choreography, great music and really good fun.
Also some very impressive technology, rain that can spell and a multi/colour changing set that looks stunning.
I would highly recommend the show to anyone looking for a great night out. - Lisa
17 May 08
I saw this on Tuesday 13th May 08.Had stalls seats. Row G. Excellent seats. What an absolute load of rubbish.I sat there thinking of all the shows I could have seen in the West End instead of this trash.
The one star is for the excellent performers who are extremely tallented - each and every one - and are wasted on such a pathetic, childish storying-line. The fake "Spanniard's" jokes were from children's TV I am sure. I visit West End Theatre regularly, it's a passion so feel qualified to make a comment.
This is purely and simply a Tribute night - you can see this in any club or cabaret bar. The choreography was good and the leads had excellent voices, especially the girl singing A Million Love Songs.
The audience went wild with applause, mainly because of the Take That songs and presentation.
This is yet another story fitted around the songs of a pop group. I like Take That but if I'd have wanted a Tribute night I would have gone to one with a meal included very probably, ie a Caberet bar.
To charge £60.00 of my hard earned cash for this is obscene. I know it had toured before hitting the West End and I am sure did well in Stoke and Wolverhampton and the like but this is the West End we're talking about.
Sometimes I don't understand theatre - trash like this does really well and yet a musical such as Rent with a superb cast and storyline closes early??
However, you may enjoy this? The critics like it.
- Dave Woolrich
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