“The Band” by Tim Firth
Nottingham Theatre Royal.

It’s 1992 and we meet five 16 year old girls for who ‘the band’ is everything. A group of girls, who were once inseparable, reunite after 25 years apart and try once more to fulfil their dream of meeting the boy band whose music became the soundtrack to their lives.

Rachel and her four school pals Debbie, Claire, Zoe, and Heather win tickets to see the band in concert at the Manchester Apollo, but on their return, tragedy strikes. 25 years later they reunite after Rachel wins another competition to see The Band reunite for a concert in Prague.

This is not just another jukebox musical. Sure it uses the songs of Take That, songs that any Take That fan, or come to think of it, any fan of any boy band in the 1990’s would never forget, What makes

this jukebox musical head and shoulders above most jukebox musicals is that the story line is very strong. It is written by Tim Firth, so you'd expect the story to take you through every emotion, and it does.

The band here, who perform the music of Take That, are not the main feature but as a musical back drop to the story of these women and girls who want to have their fires relit by their teenage idols.

AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Curtis T Johns, Yazdan Qafouri and SarioSolomon are the band and they sing and dance their socks – and more - off throughout the show. Could they be any more magic? Well they certainly deliver all the promises from the flood of publicity given all those months ago.

The vocals and harmonies are so tight and effortless and it only takes a minute from when they start singing to realise just how good this musical is going to be and how good it is. They truly shine in their vocals, choreography and stage work, getting the audience well and truly hyped up, especially during the concert performance pieces, making us all feel like kids again.

The girls, Faye Christall (young Rachel), Katy Clayton (young Heather), Sarah Kate Howarth (young Claire), Rachelle Diedricks (Debbie) and Lauren Jacobs (young Zoe) are so so good and they fall so well into the character of the typical teenage girl. Excitable is not the word with this bunch of friends.

The older versions of these teenagers are played by Rachel lumber (Rachel), Emily Joyce (Heather),

Alison Fitzjohn (Claire) and Jayne McKenna (Zoe). These ladies are amazing and we also see how different they are as adults, but still with that inner teenage excitable girl just under the surface. You can't help but fall in love with all of these women, and I'm not afraid to say that I was welling up at the final scenes.

The cast is completed by , Martin Miller (Jeff) and Andy Williams (Every Dave), both wonderful character parts.

The musical band, under the musical direction of John Donovan are brilliant and the sound is one of the best I've heard for a long time. The arrangements of the songs of Take That sound so good sung by women and have a lovely feel to them.

The video design also really adds to this production, especially at the end of Act One.

Directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, they have presented a musical masterpiece which I could see being the Take That equivalent of "Mamma Mia". The outlook and possible options for this piece of theatre could go on to rule the world of jukebox musicals.

What can I say about the sets? there are planes taking off in front of your eyes, buses turning into Roman chariots, giant flame flares, glitter cannons. school lockers where The Band appear from and then convert back to school lockers, large stone fountains and statues that come to life. More exciting to watch with more colourful costumes than you'd see in any circus.

This really is one musical you need to see to believe; and i pray you'll find time to go and see it, because these days quality new musicals only appear once in a while. You just need a little patience!

“The Band” became the fastest-selling musical of recent history when it went on sale in April this year, after the show’s stars, Five To Five, were found on BBC talent contest “Let It Shine” hosted by Gary Barlow.

Well I think I've just about said it all, so get your tickets while you can, take your seat and get ready for it, and take a hanky or two.

This has to be one of the best new musicals around at the moment and I really hope that it runs longer than the predicted one year. If tonight's reaction was anything to go by, this musical could run and run with every single person on their feet by the end.

“The Band” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 16 June 2018.