Summer Holiday the Musical was reviewed at Milton Keynes Theatre and continues touring until 3 November 2018.
Star rating: two stars ★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩
Don (the role made famous by Cliff Richard) persuades his mechanic friends to take a summer trip in a red double decker red bus across Europe. Don, Steve, Edwin and Cyril are all young Londoners who seek adventure travelling through Paris, the Alps, Italy and Greece while attracting a few passengers along the way.
These passengers happen to be young women who end up stealing the boys’ hearts. Among these ladies is a young runaway singer Barbara (played by Sophie Matthew) desperately wanting to escape fame.
Ray Quinn takes the lead as a suave Don who always knows the answer and what to say. Quinn’s fantastic and likeable character allow him all the qualities of a young Cliff Richard which the audience happily responds to.
However, his talent seems to be the only thing holding the show together as the flow seems very unnatural, particularly in Act I. Although the cast members show off their exceptional vocals, the script and one-liners are very weak and often comic timing is missed (Bobby Crush, as flamboyant showbiz agent Jerry, creates a few laughs but his character could be given more substance). Perhaps the outdated context needs an injection of glamour.
A member of the ensemble, William Beckerleg, adopts several roles within the musical as we see him as different characters from each of the passing countries; in Paris, Switzerland and Italy. His vast amount of accent changes show off his talent and also brings some humour to the bland story.
Although the piece is missing some sunshine and pizzazz, the choreography and enthusiasm of the cast should not go unnoticed. The dance routines go hand in hand with the 60s era and get the audience singing in their seats (it was clear that many of the audience members were huge fans of Cliff Richard and The Shadows and the cast used this to their advantage). The bus is impressive and offers some interesting focal points to the scenes.
With some tightening the production has potential to draw in its audience and make them feel as though they really are on a summer holiday!
Molly Kerrigan
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