Fanta Barrie and Jane McCarry in Summer Holiday the Musical. Photo by Manuel Harlan..jpg
Summer Holiday the Musical was reviewed at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield where it continues until 18 July 2026. The production then transfers the Grand Theatre, Blackpool from 29 July to 8 August 2026.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
For Sheffield Theatres to have their press night for Summer Holiday the Musical fortuitously fall on the hottest day of the year was very fitting for a show about a group of friends who head out across Europe aboard a double decker bus for a summer road trip filled with adventure, musicians and romance.
Heading the cast are George Jones as Don and Fanta Barrie as Barbara, and they share an enjoyable onstage chemistry, while Matthew James Hinchliffe is charming as Al. But it is Jane McCarry and Damian Humbley’s performances which really stand out, portraying Stella and Jerry, the ultimate pushy mother and her long-suffering agent, as they manage to steal every scene they are in with some genuinely funny caricatures and an infectious energy.
The show packs in the musical numbers at a relentless pace, all of which are toe-tappingly enjoyable. ‘The Young Ones’, ‘In the Country’, ‘I’ve Got a Funny Feeling’ and the title songs are delightful, and the use of instrumental pieces to punctuate the scene changes works well.
The cast as a whole are generally in fine voice, and they perform with genuine enthusiasm, bringing a feel of Californian surf pop to the songs, with twanging guitars and close harmonies.
Casting actor-musicians makes the musical numbers feel spontaneous and vivacious, and the talent on display amongst the performers is impressive as they seamlessly switch between singing, dancing, acting and multiple instruments. However, it also does ultimately limit the choreography somewhat, meaning that the big ensemble pieces which are needed never actually arrive.
Co-directors Elizabeth Newman and Ben Occhipinti bring a number of inventive touches to the proceedings. Amanda Stoodley’s set leaves the vast majority of the thrust stage empty, allowing the cast to freely move around and for there to be a few surprises along the way. These include trio Do-Re-Mi making their entrance in a Mini Cooper which rises from the centre of the stage, while the cast spills out into the auditorium and there are some brief interactions with some of the audience members.
Stoodley’s set and costume designs are very much late 1960s with the main set being a wall of geometric modernist patterns full of vibrancy and playfulness. The Cuban collar shirts and shift dresses feel very much in keeping with the look and feel of the time period.
The show is adapted by Michael Gyngell and Mark Haddigan from the classic film and they throw in a slew of local references, all of which land well with the home crowd. The introduction of a same sex romance updates the story which juxtaposes nicely with the retro 1960s vibes, but the occasional outdated reference, including describing the female characters as ‘birds’, perhaps should have been addressed in this version. Plus I’m not sure it is appropriate that Barbara says she is “pretending to be 14”.
Summer Holiday is a light, breezy and nostalgic piece of fun, which is slightly twee and fairly shallow, but which invokes the spirit of the swinging sixties and the innocence of youth. It sets out to provide a couple of hours of undemanding entertainment, and it does just that.
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