Shout!

The book, adapted by Julie Balloo from the American original, is dire. Tepid gags are fired out with machine-gun rapidity (eg “it’s my raison d’être”, “ooh you can get pills for that”), as excuses to shoe-horn in the hits and are snuffled out at every opportunity; naturally one of the girls falls in love with a man called Bobby (cue “Bobby’s Girl”) and they all go strolling ‘downtown’ in a pair of boots quite clearly made for walking. It’s like watching a strange kind of pop music pornography.

But though Shout! may have quite literally lost the plot, its plethora of toe-tappers is served up by a talented cast whose palpable energy, particularly in the second half, just about saves the show from the abyss. Marissa Dunlop, Shona White and Tiffany Graves make for a formidable trio (Graves is especially strong) while Su Pollard does sterling work as ‘wacky’ aunt Yvonne. It’s just a shame the lines are so limp, because as we all know no one serves up a decent double better than she.

As the sole male cast member (aside from a cameo appearance by the assistant stage manager), John Jack has a busy time. He pops up between numbers to perform a series of mock adverts (which, though occasionally funny, are annoyingly frequent) or to play a variety of cameos from a two-timing playboy to a ‘hirsuted and booted’ Spanish waiter.

Shout! is a two-hour sprint down memory lane. Period clichés are dished out like sweets while the cast jump in and out of a range of miniskirts, polo-necks and of course those aforementioned boots. The music is often delightful (stand-outs including “Colour My World”, “Those Were the Days” and “You’re My World”), and if you’re willing to look past the by-numbers creative approach there’s a good night out to be had.

– Theo Bosanquet

For our review of this show from the 2008 tour, click here; for the 2001 Jermyn Street production, click here.