Music Review: The Great British Bake Off Musical – Original London Cast

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF MUSICAL – Original London Cast (Sony Masterworks 196589787347).

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Bringing to the stage the 13-series strong baking institution, The Great British Bake Off Musical captures everything we know and love about the cult favourite TV show. In the same competition format as the popular series, the musical follows eight bakers competing to win the favour of the two judges – Pam Lee and Phil Hollinghurst (yes, the parallels are indeed that blatant!) and ultimately be crowned the winner.

With a score by Jake Brunger (book and lyrics) and Pippa Cleary (music and lyrics), the songs strike a largely well-positioned balance between the comedic and more heartfelt aspects of the stage show. Much of the now-classic elements of the television production are included in the musical, not least the opening ‘Prologue’ where the audience are introduced to the history of baking through an imagined prehistoric-style skit, similar to the presenters’ sketches at the start of each televised episode. Even the infamous handshake couldn’t be forgotten, and enjoys its own slice of airtime in ‘The Handshake Song’.

Reflecting the diverse nature of the contestants who often appear on the show, and share their varied backgrounds and personal circumstances, there are plenty of heartfelt moments where vulnerabilities are exposed. ‘My Dad’, an application submitted by contestant Ben’s daughter Lily, details the events surrounding her mother’s death which led her dad to baking, and how she hopes the show can help him move on from the tragedy and find happiness in his life.

‘Somewhere in the Dough’ and ‘Grow’ similarly provide glimpses into the lives of Gemma and Francesca, and would be perfectly sentimental antitheses to the puns and silliness of the remainder of the production, if the puns weren’t also shoehorned in here where they sit a little confusingly alongside more poignant subject matter. It seems difficult to know whether Francesca’s lament about her fertility struggles, accompanied by the repetitive use of ‘bun in the oven’, is designed to evoke laughter or sympathy.

Elsewhere, though, the puns and the parodies are successfully served up alongside catchy melodies and fabulous arrangements, each solo moment reflective of the contestants’ individual styles and caricaturing some of their unique traits.

Subtle it is not – but perhaps that is exactly where the joy of the original television show lies, and what better quintessentially British material on which to base a musical theatre production than tea, cake and delightful escapism.

Sorcha Exworthy