At times, a Daily Info reviewer is prepared to go to weird events so that you, dear reader, don’t have to. But it’s infinitely more fun when we can recommend that the weird is also wonderful, and you should all go!
Do we need a Great British Bake Off musical? Well, no, but then we don’t really need eclairs. Does it work? Yes! All the characters and some of the events are straight out of GBBO, some of them thinly disguised! Dame 'Pam Lee' and 'Phil Hollinghurst' (dispenser of the famous Hollinghurst Handshake) cast a critical eye over proceedings, while 'Kim' and 'Jim' encourage the eight contestants and announce impossible challenges (remember ice-cream in a heatwave?).
Competitors include perfect Izzy who’ll stop at nothing to win, hipster Dezza who will only use vegan butter, a Smeg fridge that’s practically a character itself, and a host of heatwrenching backstories - plausible people who had looked tragedy in the face and turned to baking to make life better. By the interval I was a blubbery mess.
But not for long - the pace is hectic! I think partly the OFS is about half the size a cast of 16 need for this much jazz dancing and that many props. I was a bit terrified that someone was going to go flying, particularly with glitter, flour, tears and possibly icing everywhere. Instead they nimbly avoided the 8 baking stations trolleys, complete with gingham curtains, out of which came numerous bowls, whisks and some outlandish pastries!
I’d been wondering how they were going to do the voting off; would the cast have to recycle themselves in some way? Cunningly they only lost one contestant early on in proceedings, and he was very good at popping up again. Most of the others disappeared in a rush at the end, giving us the sense of camaraderie that builds in the tent.
The cast are fabulous. Ed Blagrove ramped up Phil’s demigod status and Liverpudlian accent. Benjamin Ashton was a delightfully awful Dezza, in a loveable sort of way. Gemma (Cat Blagrove) found her lost confidence and jived her way to the end, carrying the most dramatic arc. Little Lily (played by Bethany Robinson in the performance I saw) was a lovely blend of innocence and 9-year old cynicism. Salt-of-the-earth Babs (Clare Denton) did her utmost to bag Phil as well as (or even instead of) the trophy, and Claire Cattel has an astonishing ability to sing while not quite crying (and was responsible for most of my sniffles).
What’s next? Well I’m hoping for Pottery Throwdown The Musical. Katie Bedborough and James Studds as the kiln gods? Alex Williams as Keith BJ, and Claire Cattel as special crying coach! I can see it now…