Summer Holiday – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Eleanor Brown and Michael Peavoy in Summer Holiday at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Pictures: Richard Lakos

Summer Holiday continues at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton until 23 June 2018.

Star rating: three stars ★★★✩✩

With the theatre about to undergo major refurbishment the Octagon offers a tantalising glimpse of life on the road in the theatre’s new production of Summer Holiday, inviting the audience to join in on an adventure from Bolton to Athens complete with a bus journey and singalong on the way.

Adapted from the 1963 film starring Cliff Richard, writers Michael Gyngell and Mark Haddigan premiered their stage version in 1996, adding a few more hits from the back catalogue of Cliff Richard and The Shadows to tell the story of mechanic Don, who convinces his friends to fix up a double-decker and embark on a trip across Europe.

En route they pick up ‘Do-Re-Mi’, a singing trio desperate to get to a gig in Athens, and Barbara Winters, a famous singer fleeing her overbearing mother by disguising herself as a boy, Bobby.

Beginning at the new Bolton Interchange the audience – and the occasional bemused commuter – look on as Don reveals his grand plan and leads a lively rendition of the title song. The audience then board one of six double-decker buses where a cast member leads a singalong until you disembark in France, which bears a striking resemblance to the Town Hall steps.

It is an organisational marvel and, to the credit of the whole production team, what must have taken a huge amount of planning is pulled off completely smoothly. Adding a sense of novelty and occasion to the show, it is enormous fun and embraces the community spirit the Octagon so frequently demonstrates.

The action then returns to the theatre auditorium where you are greeted by Amanda Stoodley’s colourful backdrop of national flags and the cast demonstrating their musical talents performing a rock‘n’roll soundtrack. The audience members take their seats full of goodwill and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, once back in the traditional setting, the production loses a little of its magic and the flaws in the musical itself are more exposed.

The updates from co-directors Elizabeth Newman and Ben Occhipinti are welcome, with occasional nods to Bolton and incorporating a male love story that develops naturally alongside the other relationships, showing the positive change in attitudes since 1963.

Despite the efforts of the extremely talented cast, however, most of the characters are thinly drawn, with little personality of their own and the plot has such gaping holes one expects a whole fleet of Bolton buses could drive through them. There is a lot of padding with a scant amount of action; the revelation that Bobby is really Barbara results in only slight – and soon forgotten – embarrassment from Don, with nobody recognising her even without the disguise.

It is testament to the sheer enthusiasm and energy of the cast one can still be swept along for the ride. Michael Peavoy has a likeable, easygoing charisma as Don and Eleanor Brown is a warm and spirited Barbara. They duet beautifully together on ‘The Young Ones’ and the ensemble staging of ‘I Could Easily Fall in Love with You’ is charming. The cast demonstrates extraordinary musicianship throughout and the sound design from Chris Bogg is crystal clear.

A sense of joy and passion emanates from the cast and transcends the limitations of the material itself. Ending with a rousing finale that gets the audience on their feet, Summer Holidayis an uplifting, feelgood production and the success of the site-specific scenes in particular holds lots of promise for the Octagon’s future travels.

May Mellstrom