Rebecca Lock (centre), Chris Grahamson and the cast in Here & Now at the Opera House, Manchester. Picture: Pamela Raith
Here & Now was reviewed at the Opera House, Manchester where it continues until 13 September 2025. The tour continues until 16 May 2026.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Based around the songs of Steps, Here & Now is a guaranteed great night out.
The soap opera style storyline (book by Shaun Kitchener), focusing on the love lives of colleagues and friends at Better Best Bargains store, works perfectly with the fun, camp, high-energy Steps songbook in Rachel Kavanaugh’s production.
There is a star performance from Rebecca Lock as Caz, surrogate mum to everyone, who wants all her friends to be happy and find true love. It was no surprise to hear the tremendous audience response to her stunning vocals.
Caz’s best friend Vel, played by Jacqui Dubois, adds to the joyful feeling of the whole show, and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments created by other members of the cast. These include manager Patricia (Finty Williams) who has graduated from the same French school as Del Boy, and checkout assistant Robbie (Blake Patrick Anderson) who fancies everyone – even the ‘Red Man’ at the pedestrian crossing. River Medway also gives a standout performance as local drag star Jem.
The dropping in of contemporary references throughout the show is fun. Alison Hammond and Miriam Margolyes get a mention, for example, when wouldbe art student Neeta (Rosie Singha) is preparing her collage work.
And there is much discussion of compatibility as judged by your choice of meal deal. I’m with delivery driver Tracey (Lauren Woolf) – it’s a hard no to a date with someone who picks a bottle of water, green salad and some grapes!
As with all good soap storylines there is a couple of baddies to hiss and boo at, from seemingly nice guy Max (Edward Baker-Duly) to Gareth (Chris Grahamson), the long-term partner of Caz who is rumoured to be having an affair with Cheryl from the chippy.
The characters’ fabulous antics are brilliantly matched by the Pop Art colours of the set design (Tom Rogers) and costumes (Gabriella Slade), especially during the airport scene.
Elaine Gallacher
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