REVIEW| Take That inspired musical The Band mixed bag as music fails to hit the mark

Flicking between 1993 and present day, The Band explores how pop music defines the lives of five teenage girls, and how four of them grow into women following the tragic death of their friend.

The boy band, inspired by Take That, was the foundation of the girls’ friendship in their youth. More than 25 years later the soundtrack of their teenage years is the reason the four women reunite.

The emotional production is a relatable tale of the harsh realities of adulthood with the fantastic portrayal of friendship stealing the show.

After Rachel, played by Kerry McCrohon, wins a competition to a reunion concert in Prague, she reluctantly reaches out to her old school friends in a bid to rediscover herself.

Kerry was wonderful and the fact that her character manages to reconnect with not only herself, but her friends and her partner, is the happy ending we all needed.

Heather’s character, played by Jasmin Richardson (young Heather) and Kat Millmore-Davies, is iconic with her comedic one-liners that had the audience chuckling throughout.

She bounced off of Claire’s character, played by Maisy Wallace and Kim Seagrove, perfectly with the continuous bouts of humour which complimented eachother nicely.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Coqueral, who played young Zoe, was the perfect ‘goody two-shoes’ while Caroline Westmorland was brilliant in depicting her life as a mum-of-four and a college drop out.

The young girls and women all stunned the audience with their relatable characters but the boy band’s Take That renditions sometimes fell short.

Although the intention was clear, the singing paled in comparison to the real deal and appeared somewhat forced into the scenes.

The Band will be at The Kings Theatre until May 10 - click here for more information.