Spend, Spend, Spend

Synopsis

Scraping by on seven quid a week with her husband and three kids in a tiny terraced house in Castleford, Yorkshire, Viv Nicholson’s life was as near rock bottom as it could get. Until that day in 1961 when Viv borrowed 5 from her Mam to play the Pools and she was catapulted from obscurity to fame with the biggest win ever - £152,319 (£5 million today). And that was it, Viv and Keith’s lives changed overnight and Viv declared to the world she was going to spend, spend, spend. ‘Booze, big cars, big spending, big headlines’ and a succession of husbands soon led to bankruptcy. From rags to riches and back to rags again, a gritty and poignant musical about the extraordinary story of a brash and naïve, northern lass

Our Review:

14 October 2010

If you belong to a wealthy family, you are told not to spend ‘capital.' If you are the working class wife of a coal miner who has never had her hands on it before, ‘capital’ is money and money is for spending. And boy doesViv Nicholson - the true life heroine of Spend Spend Spend!- the musical, know how to do that!

After winning £152, 319 ( £3 million today) on the pools in 1961,Viv sets about buying anything she can get her hands on, including ; a pink chevrolet, holidays and a house in an upmarket area. After the death of her beloved second husband, Keith, made believable by Greg Barnett, the money gets her three more spouses, two of whom beat her, but she never finds love again and ends up penniless.

The show is narrated by Karen Mann as the brash, older Viv who shares the stage with award winning Kirsty Hoiles as her bouncy younger self. The two are well-matched and a highlight is when th...

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Latest User Review

Gar - 15 October 2010:

Excellent!!! this is the 2nd show I've seen of Craig's (Mikado the other) and love the seemless way the cast play instruments, act and sing effortlessly and without intrusion into the drama. Fantastic cast again. Great performances by Kirsty Hoiles and Greg Barnett. My only negative was Viv's (snr) accent tended to drift from opp north to midlands to the home counties at times, but still a solid moving performance....

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