Starter for Ten: A New Musical – Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Picture: Pamela Raith

Starter for Ten: A New Musical was reviewed at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre where it continues until 1 November 2025.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Following a well-received run at Bristol’s Old Vic last year, the stage adaptation of David Nicholls’ celebrated comic novel (and later film) Starter for Ten arrives at Birmingham Repertory Theatre this month with a buoyant sense of nostalgia, ambition and youthful optimism. Blending the thrills of quiz show competition with the awkward, exhilarating journey of first year university, the production adapts the original source material into a musical full of heart, self discovery and mountains of general knowledge quizzardry.

Set in 1985, the story follows Brian Jackson (played here by Adam Bregman) on his leap from provincial Southend to Bristol University. He arrives clutching his encyclopaedias and a lifelong dream: to win on the legendary quiz programme University Challenge. But Brian soon discovers that university life is far more complicated than simply knowing facts. He must navigate the uneasy waters of new friends, shifting loyalties, class tensions and first loves, while his mum Irene (Mel Giedroyc) worries about him from home in Southend, and Bamber Gascoine (Stephen Ashfield) prepares his trickiest questions for TV’s most famous “battle of the brains”.

We’re always ready to champion a new British musical, and while Starter for Ten doesn’t necessarily scream out for a musical adaptation, it certainly offers entertainment, strong characters and escapism with heart. The musical strikes a fine balance between crowd-pleasing fun and emotional substance, and the quiz-show sequences are dynamic; lights flash, buzzers sound, and the cast move with such coordination that the audience feels the competitive high that Brian craves.

The nostalgia treatment is handled with affection rather than kitsch, so the 1980s setting adds texture but never overshadows the characters’ journeys. Moreover, the show finds unexpected heart in the parent/child relationship. Irene’s hopes and Brian’s misplaced certainties are all framed without sentimentality, and by Act II you realise the stakes are less about the quiz win and more about connection, identity and self-worth. In this sense, the production honours the spirit of the original novel (which asked “what happens when knowledge isn’t enough?”) while giving it a musical theatre gloss that doesn’t feel superficial.

Act II does slow its pace as the emotional stakes deepen, and an audience expecting constant high-octane comedy may feel the show plodding rather than rolling. A few plot beats (especially Brian’s romantic confusion) tread familiar coming-of-age ground, so it’s easier to anticipate some of the story’s turns. And while the quiz show theme is obviously the backbone of the piece, it does bog the rest of the storytelling down at times, and audiences less keen on random general knowledge may find this frustrating.

These are however minor quibbles in what is otherwise a bright, confident new British musical. The book and lyrics (Emma Hall and Charlie Parham) deftly capture the spirit of the original novel while updating it for the stage, and the score (Hatty Carman and Tom Rasmussen) channels the mid-80s with a pop-punk edge that never feels gimmicky.

Parham’s direction keeps the pacing lively and performances the right side of caricature, and Lee Newby’s set and costume design drop us into a recognisable university bar/lecture hall world of the era, but with a theatrical eye that allows scene transitions to feel seamless rather than forced. Lighting by Zoe Spurr and sound by Rob Bettle and Sam Clarkson round off a production that is polished, theatrical and slickly delivered.

Bregman excels as Brian, keeping us rooting for the geeky underdog from the off. Accompanied with a fine voice, he invests the role with wide-eyed ambition and later emotional vulnerability.

Imogen Craig’s Alice and Miracle Chance’s Lucy are highlights, both bubbly with incredibly sharp timing, and Will Jennings as Patrick brings further comedic edge that plays brilliantly opposite Brian’s open earnestness. Giedroyc takes on dual roles (Irene Jackson and quiz deputy Julia Bland) with flair – her unique comic timing is razor sharp, and when the moment calls for heart she delivers it seamlessly. Asha Parker Wallace is also striking as Rebecca, a touch too militant at times but bringing real presence to a role which could have been a marginal cypher, but instead becomes emotionally resonant.

In an era when original British musicals feel few and far between, Starter for Ten is a lively, warm-hearted and thoroughly engaging piece of work. Funny, tender and nostalgic, this is a musical that knows that the correct answers don’t matter anywhere near as much as the journey.

Rob Bartley