From left: Laura Robinson (Polly), Kaitlyn Akinpelumi (Angie) / Musicians - LJ Willow and Darragh Cowley. Photo: Chris Payne
Review by Lisa Butler.
This Indie musical about finding your place and finding yourself is written by Siân Owen and performed by Box of Tricks Theatre Company.
Set on New Year’s Eve 1997 in the Déjà Vus’ club in Manchester, with Spin Jim (played by Darragh Cowlry) on the decks, this musical has a soundtrack full of 90s classics, taking you from The Smiths to the Stone Roses.
Directed by Adam Quayle, the storyline follows three girls who are in the club on New Year’s Eve and their backstories. Polly (Laura Robinson) and Angie (Kaitlyn Akinpelumi) are up for a big night out while Jean (Bethan McLean) is lost and alone.
Jean’s partner, Carl, is played by Theo Woolford, who is part of the interweaving storylines and also plays an ensemble role alongside LJ Willow. Together with Darragh Cowlry these three are the musicians for the live band on stage. Using a mix of recorded background music in the club and the live band for the songs sung in the musical was very effective.
The 90s is very much my era and I loved hearing all the songs in this musical. I particularly enjoyed their goosebump-inducing version of Radiohead’s ‘No Surprises’. Despite a small hiccup with a head mike at one point in act two, it was a memorable tour of the music of the 90s from Musical Director Vidar Norheim, beautifully sung by the cast.
There was a versatile, multi-level set from Designer Hannah Sibai, that was used effectively and provided the toilets, a dance floor, a bus, a fire escape, a phone booth, a bar area, the live band on stage and other scenes all within the one set.
The cast, who never left the stage, provided energy and enthusiasm that carried throughout the show.
From left: Kaitlyn Akinpelumi (Angie) and Laura Robinson (Polly) / Musicians - Darragh Cowley and Theo Woolford. Photo: Chris Payne
It can be challenging to watch a brand-new musical without any familiar story to grasp on to, and I did start to wonder where the storylines were going. However, the story of each of the three women is carefully woven together and as they unfold they overlap and complement each other. Although it does dip dark in act two before coming up again into hope, it did well portraying the darker elements of the women’s storylines in the second act before lifting again. The movement, choreographed by Chris Brown, brought the whole atmosphere of the club alive throughout and made suitable changes of movement to go with the mood at the different points in the story.
The dancing styles fitted the era (we really did do a lot of jumping up and down with our arms up in the air) and so did the denim shorts and black tights of Polly, though I think I remember my shorts being shorter - much much shorter!
Although only in Ipswich for two nights, this show continues its tour until November 7, with two more venues, in Sheffield and Scarborough. For more information view the website: www.boxoftrickstheatre.co.uk.
How Soon is Now is at New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich until 31 October 2026.
FOR SHOW DETAILS AND BOOKING LINK, CLICK HERE