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Synopsis Set against the backdrop of a travelling funfair and packed with dazzling stunt sequences, hilarious crafty cons and plenty of rock ‘n’ roll, All the Fun of the Fair is an action-packed musical from legendary singer and songwriter David Essex and the creator of Boogie Nights, Jon Conway. Widower and funfair owner Levi Lee (David Essex) is struggling to fend off the unwelcome attentions of an alluring and attractive divorcee whilst trying to keep up with the ins and outs of his son’s tangled love life and lofty ambitions. And what is he to make of the dangerous predictions of the fair’s mysterious gypsy fortune teller, warning him about what the future has in store? Inspired by David’s debut album, this roller-coaster ride is underscored by a helter-skelter of hits such as Winter’s Tale, Hold Me Close, Gonna Make You A Star, Me and My Girl Nightclubbing, Silver Dream Machine and Rock On. So roll on up and get your tickets now for this beautiful, modern musical love-story with a heartbreaking twist.
David Essex musical All the Fun of the Fair opened at the Garrick Theatre last week, with a cast led by the legendary pop crooner himself.
Set against the backdrop of a travelling funfair and named after his top-selling 1975 album, the show, which features many of Essex's best-known hits, tells the story of widower and funfair owner Levi Lee (Essex), who’s coming to terms with the loss of his wife and battling the attentions of a newly-divorced woman. He’s also struggling to deal with his rebellious teenage son’s tangled love life, and the gloomy predictions of a gypsy fortune-teller.
Essex is joined in the principal cast by Christopher Timothy (best known from TV’s All Creatures Great and Small and Doctors), Louise English (Me and My Girl, Annie, Oliver!, Hello, Dolly!), Nicola Brazil (Hairspray, Grease, Wicked) and in the leading role as Levi’s son, Michael Pickering (Wicked, High School Musical).
Michael Coveney in Whatsonstage.com (three stars) - “As an excuse for a musical based on one of his albums, David Essex hasn’t aimed all that high … But in its own honest, rather stilted way, the show has a beguiling melodramatic charm, and Essex as Levi Lee, the boss in a pork pie hat and tightly packed jeans, has several poignant moments … The Essex voice sounds these days as if coming strained through a tea towel, but with its emphatically Cockney vowels, parched timbre and casual inflections, it was always a fairly distinctive pop instrument … The songs are less wittily strung together than they are in Mamma Mia!, and the fairground setting isn’t as organic a design feature as it is Love Never Dies, but the stomping simplicity of 'Hold Me Close,' for instance, is well mobilized by the cast … Rock on, but strictly for fans.”
Benedict Nightingale in The Times (three stars) – “Which of the two fairground owners currently on show in West End musical is the more appealing? It’s a closer-run thing than you might think, because the driving force behind the fun palace in … Love Never Dies is the Phantom ... But my vote is still for David Essex’s Levi Lee … This is still basically a sentimental, soft-centred show … But it’s hard to resist the result. If Essex’s book creaks, his songs … do come across tunefully enough. True the lyrics are almost as bad as Abba’s in Mamma Mia! … And the music has none of the soaring sophistication of Love Never Dies. But you often feel like humming harmlessly along. That’s something, isn’t it?”
Lyn Gardner in the Guardian (two stars) - “Not much fun and only passably fair, this fairground musical based on the back catalogue of David Essex promises the excitement of a night on the dodgems, but never delivers more than a gentle spin in the teacups … I sustained the faint hope that we might actually see the Wall of Death on a West End stage, but this faded quickly in an evening that races along to nowhere with bland, blinkered efficiency … The show constantly sends out a mixed message as to what the fair really represents (thrills or homeliness), and although Essex holds the stage with a grizzled twinkliness, the evening's main claim to fame is its outstanding display of cosmetic dentistry and what will hopefully be the final sighting on a British stage of a character straight from the heartwarming Sir John Mills school of village idiots.”
Paul Callan in the Daily Express (four stars) - “Not quite the rocking luminary of the Seventies we remember but he still has that roguish appeal and can belt out such memorable numbers as 'Hold Me Close' and my old favourite 'Silver Dream Machine' … Basically the story-line is a slender framework for 23 of Essex’s best songs but, as jukebox musicals go, it has some dramatic and edgy moments … Essex still has that great, gravelly voice and plays the old-time boss with smooth style. Nicola Brazil as Alice and Susan Hallam-Wright as Mary both possess quite lyrical voices and their duet 'He Noticed Me' is sweetly moving. Michael Pickering is a powerfully voiced Jack, particularly in his solo Lamplight, and Tim Newman as Slow Jonny was highly comical, apart from his 'Ooooh Betty' Michael Crawford voice. Director David Gilmore keeps the energy moving along and Ian Westbrook’s set catches perfectly the faded charm of old fairgrounds. And I wasn’t the only critic who wanted to jump on the stage and drive a Dodgem.”
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph (three stars) - “Watching this modest show, I was amazed at just how many of Essex’s catchy songs - 'Gonna Make You a Star', 'Hold Me Close', 'A Winter’s Tale' and 'Lamplight' - had wormed their way into my consciousness, and how good it was to hear them again … The plot line may be predictable, the jokes not quite as funny as one would wish, but there are moments when it becomes genuinely touching, and it is a pleasure to watch a West End production that puts its faith in its performers rather than hi-tech special effects … This is a long way from being a great musical but with its mixture of seedy charm and sudden moments of menace and emotional pain, All the Fun of the Fair is well worth a spin.”
As an excuse for a musical based on one of his albums, David Essex hasn’t aimed all that high: a string of old hits, a fairground on the skids, a Jack-the-lad son two-timing the fortune-teller’s daughter with the daughter of a shady entrepreneur, East End “watcher cocks” and lots of coloured lights and cuddly toys.
But in its own honest, rather stilted way, the show has a beguiling melodramatic charm, and Essex as Levi Lee, the boss in a pork pie hat and tightly packed jeans, has several poignant moments of mock vanity when he admits that the older he gets, the better he was.
The Essex voice sounds these days as if coming strained through a tea towel, but with its emphatically Cockney vowels, parched timbre and casual inflections, it was always a fairly distinctive pop instrument, and it served him well on stage in Godspell and Evita, less so in his own project, Mutiny.
The songs are less wittily strung together than they are in Mamma Mia!, and the fairground setting isn’t as organic a design feature as it is on Coney Island in Love Never Dies, but the stomping simplicity of “Hold Me Close,” for instance, is well mobilized by the cast suddenly emerging on a few dodgem cars, and the rabble-rousing “Gonna Make You a Star” serves the double purpose of reintroducing the Wall of Death into the fairground and transforming the twitchy retard on the rifle range.
The Wall of Death was dropped after Levi’s wife had a fatal accident – possibly brought on by his affair with the fortune-teller. And Slow Jonny remains a loser until transformed again at the end when he joins Levi and Jack on their motorbikes for the raucous finale, “Silver Dream Machine.”
Essex’s songs – plus the melodic lamentation “Winter’s Tale” by Tim Rice and Mike Batt – litter the storyline by Jon Conway, the offstage band (with the odd incursion of two acoustic guitarists) is supervised by Olly Ashmore and the whole show is efficiently staged by Grease director David Gilmore and colourfully designed by Ian Westbrook.
just been to see this in milton keynes, all I can say is that I have see many productions over the last 22 years this truly has to be the worst. Extremely weak (David Essex) some great singing from other cast members, but a story line with no real substance. I would regard it as seen but forgetable. - andrea watson
11 Feb 12
Went to see it August 12th 2010
Seen countless other shows before
and I rated this as good as any of them.
good songs, liked the storyline & the acting was good.
When the young lad was killed . I turned to the lady with me{Sandra}.
and god bless........she was weeping for him.
Thoroughly enjoyed the show .If its still on at Xmas we`ll be going to see it again with some other friends to see if they enjoy it too. I know we did.Well done the cast! - Don & San from Barrow in Furness.
16 Aug 10
Been to see the show twice now. Travelled down from Yorkshire with my wife and had a great weekend in London. The show is fantastic as the cast. Special mention to Tim Newman...what a star. Mr Essex still has that twinkle in his eye, which is why the front rows are usually full of ladies. As mentioned in other reviews, after the show David was more than happy to sign autographs and pose for photos....something of a rare thing I find nowadays. If we get a chance before the end of the run we will go again
Well done to all the cast and crew - Andy Smith
30 Jul 10
Went to see "All the Fun of the Fair" last night as I am a fan of David Essex since his singing days in the 1970's. I enjoyed the show and would have loved to hear David sing more but understand that he's a generous star and allows others to be in the limelight other than himself. Well worth seeing even if you're not a David Essex fan. - Andreane
21 Jul 10
As mentioned by a previous review this show cannot be compared to the shows that have been on the west end for years, it is a show that has toured and was so popular it is now at the Garrick for 6 months. It was an excellent show and well worth the money, I and the 3 people I went with thoroughly enjoyed it. David Essex was a true star on the stage and afterwards at the stage entrance, he was happy to stand and pose for photographs with fans and sign any programmes or memorabilia. If you enjoyed his music in the 70's you will love this show. - Kim
14 Jul 10
Saw this show in the West End a few days ago and was disappointed it didn't match up to the touring production which I saw on many occassions in different towns.
I love David Essex music and many of my favourites feature in the show, but the performance I saw lacked spark and it's transformation from new director David Gilmore didn't work for me.
The original, under the direction of Nicolai Foster was far more endearing, as were the touring cast.
Just felt like I was watching a cut price version, despite paying double for the tickets. - Essexfan
16 May 10
OK so i come from the "love David Essex" school of thinking, but for a small theatre show (you simply shouldn't be expecting all the big production of We will Roack you etc), myself & hubby really enjoyed ourselves. Essex never took himself too seriously,made fantastic contact with the audience, and had me humming his songs all over again. Yes the show could have had more of a backbone in places,but it looked as if the cast had a really good time, and in turn made for a very happy audience.Have i reccommended it to friends,,,yes. Loved the voice of Essex, certainly the Sunday mat. we saw he was in fine form. Treat it as a celebration of his songs with a bit of a story thrown in!Go enjoy,don't be put off by some of these reviews x - dennycat
12 May 10
Loving David Essex makes me very biased but this show is full of emotion and fun. The atmosphere in the theatre was wonderful. A show for everyone to enjoy whatever their age. - Karen
09 May 10
There were some excellent vocal performances from the younger members of the cast but not a show I will remember for years to come. Mr Essex is still a very attractive chap and the number of women in the audience of my age(47) and upwards is testament to this. One or two of the songs worked fairly well. Don't expect any fancy tricks with the scenery. All sung to a backing track, no live orchestra - you can't really count the four musicians on stage pretending to play bongos and guitar, It's a predictable storyline that has been done to death. Having said this, the show did keep my attention all the way through and it wasn't a complete dodgem crash. - TERRY
08 May 10
yes so its a bit so it places BUT the show is not cool and hip. Its ..... a great feel good show.
You will walk out the theatre happy and singing the songs GO TAKE A LOOK !!! - John Applejack
Opened on 24 Apr 1889, funded by W.S. Gilbert. 675 seats. Bought from Andrew Lloyd Webber and now owned by Broadway producer Max Weitzenhoffer and Nica Burns.Society of London Theatre member.
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