Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Here & Now was reviewed at the Milton Keynes Theatre where it continues under 4 April 2026. The tour continues until 16 May 2026.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Bright, breezy and stacked with bangin’ pop hits, Here & Now The Steps Musical bursts onto the stage with a spring in its step.
It’s a light and lively full-on extravaganza with a setting and storyline in the vein of beloved camp TV sitcoms like Hi-de-Hi!, The Brittas Empire or even Dinner Ladies.
But this tale is set in the, er, here and now of course, so there’s definitely a flavour of the times as we meet the staff of high street supermarket Better Best Bargains, led by “work mum” and selfless staffer Caz, who’s getting ready to mark her 50th.
It’s a jukebox style musical, from an original book by Shaun Kitchener, but produced by the band and ROYO with Pete Waterman, so you can rest assured that the action is liberally interspersed with songs from Steps. And there are a lot – with 14 top five singles to choose from!
There are several subplots and storylines going on as Caz and colleagues seek love and fulfilment away from the supermarket shelves. Sometimes, and especially in the rather rammed first half, it can be tough keeping up. I felt like I needed a spreadsheet with songs and scene changes being fast and furious. Yet it didn’t trouble the many younger members of audience on the night, taking the quickfire chatter, pacy action and multiple songs in their stride.
Fitting in so many songs could seem a challenge, but director Rachel Kavanaugh keeps the focus on the good ones for the set pieces, including a brilliant rendition of ‘Love’s Got a Hold of My Heart’, as well as favourites ‘5,6,7,8’ and ‘Neon Blue’. None though could beat ‘Better Best Forgotten’ and the airport scene – flight attendant uniforms, suitcases and aircraft signalling seem to lend themselves to a sassy and cheeky reworking, with full credit for choreography to Matt Cole.
Much like her character, Lara Denning (playing Caz) holds this whole shebang together, setting a very high bar with her fantastic voice, sympathetic acting and enduring appeal. The melancholy pop bangers cut through too and Denning delivers time and again, a highlight being the heartbreaking ‘One for Sorrow’.
We get a slower, more meaningful Act II as the life choices and decisions for Caz and her crew reach crunch time. This allows for all the cast to shine, particularly Rosie Singha as a very engaging Neeta, Jacqui Dubois grabbing laughs and more as Vel and Blake Patrick Anderson oozing warmth and “cuddlyability” as Robbie.
Did I mention those hits? It’s good to revisit these dance floor classics and River Medway deserves praise for playing a blinder in drag as Robbie’s love interest Jem who leads the crowd-pleasing ‘Chain Reaction’.
A sassy and rollicking ride if you can keep up; those late 1990s dance hits will stay with you on the way home.
Here & Now sparkles, a whirlwind of fun that’s a long way from ‘Tragedy’.
Christine Drabwell
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