"tick... tick... BOOM!" by Encore Performing Arts.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

"tick...tick...BOOM!" is a musical written by Jonathan Larson, which tells of an aspiring composer named Jon who lives in New York City in 1990, just ahead of Jon's 30th Birthday. The musical, and the film, released in 2021, is semi-autobiographical. Along with Jonathan, the other main characters are Susan, Jon's girlfriend, and Michael. Jon's best friend from childhood. Jon had been trying to make it big in acting and theatre and his latest piece "Superbia" is ready to be performed. Susan is a dancer, whose career is taking off and Michael gave up acting for a job in marketing.

Some people may not instantly know the name Jonathan Larson, but may know the musical "Rent", which was written by Larson. In this musical you can see just where a lot of the ideas for "Rent" emerged from, and much of the music is of a similar vein to the music of "Rent".

Originally the musical was written for a cast of three, Jon, Susan and Michael being leads with the same actors doubling up in several roles. In Encore's production, I am pleased to say that the other characters who revolve around the storyline are played by separate actors. As always with Encore, they attract a talented crop of local actors.

Andrew Bould takes on the main role of Larson, bringing the comedy as well as the pathos of the character, and you won't find him standing, or sitting still for very long. This is a very mobile role which plays well to the dancer in Andrew. It also provides some pretty powerful vocals, crossing several genres which Andrew takes in his stride, which is just as well as he features in almost all of the musical numbers. It also comes across that Andrew has done his research into the character by the way the character is portrayed, how the character acts as well as reacts to the people and the situations that surround him.

Danielle Hall plays Susan, and it seems so long ago that I heard Danielle sing that I'd forgotten just what a good voice she has. That also is shown off in numbers like "Green Green Dress" and the brilliant "Therapy" which would test any singer as the pace gets faster and faster, almost becoming a tongue twisting hoe down tune.

Paolo Elias plays Michael. I have followed Paolo's acting thus far, and have had the joy of reviewing many of his roles through University and beyond, including his role in Larson's "Rent" for Musicality. I've seen him stretch his acting abilities, as he's not afraid of taking on a variety of characters. Here, in his debut for Encore, everything is showcased. His dancing is sharp, his acting is meaningful and his voice has never sounded better.

Lizzie Fenner plays Karessa, an actor in "Superbia" and who Susan sees as a rival. Another musical highlight for me is "Come To Your Senses", which is sung beautifully by Lizzie.

At times I imagined that the ensemble characters to be inside Larson's head, at other times they are there in the room with him.

Joe Butler I often only get to see in pantos, so it was lovely to see and hear Joe performing in such a different field and to witness her versatility.

Mariko Jones is another welcome face to this rarely seen or performed production, and I can't wait to see her in a major leading role of some musical. Until then I'm just pleased to see her back on stage.

Emily Owen debuts for Encore in the ensemble, but there's no mistaking her voice.

Amy Parker looked to have enjoyed every nano second of being in this show; you just need to look at her face to recognise the joy of the part she was playing. And with this musical only having a cast of a dozen, you can take that time to scan the whole ensemble.

Megan Smith also makes her debut for Encore in this production. Megan can appreciate what a wonderful and unique musical this is as she directed "Rent" while at University and has a feel for Larson's work.

Cat Tuckey is a name that I know well and always delivers her best for any show. Cat has also performed in "Rent", so the appreciation is also there for the composer.

Producer Adam Guest also makes an appearance as Larson's father on a couple of occasions.

Samuel Reed, who I last saw on stage if my memory serves me right, was last November in "Crazy For You". Why do I remember Sam? For someone so young to dance that well, you're bound to notice. In this production Sam, like several others in the cast, makes his debut here but the quality of his dance shines from the stage. It's not often that you find a young actor who can perform various dance styles like Sam, including a mesmeric ballet section which, albeit short, was memorable for all the right reasons.

Directed by someone that I have a lot of time for, and I've known him for a while so I know his work ethic through the shows that he has been involved with, Matt Powell. He knows the importance of space, and leaving space to allow a play to breathe just a bit. This is proven in a section where Michael reveals to Jon about his disease at a crucial part of the play where, what would be a longer than average space in most plays and musicals, is left for Larson to process the bombshell news he has received from his long-time friend.

AJ Hill is the Musical Director. The band were on stage and sounded great. Only a couple of occasions did they slightly overpower the vocalists and only on one or two of the uptempo numbers.

Sound Design is by Adam Neal for MASCD Ltd and the kaleidoscopic Lighting Design was by David Price.

I loved the set design with the explosion of musical papers from the top of the piano, again emphasising the work that Larson produced. The carousel of stage flight cases not only were managed by the ensemble brilliantly, they brought the ensemble together.

The show is ninety minutes straight through and the Video Design counting the seconds down as well as providing other images was designed by Matt Powell

I'd seen the Netflix film of the musical a couple of years ago and loved the story and the music. Seeing that story on stage gives Larson's unique musical another side to it; it brings out the human side of it and explains more of the reasons why he composed "Rent" and the characters he wrote about in "Rent".

I don't think every theatre group would be able to perform this show, and that is probably one reason why it's not performed very often at all. Thankfully, Encore Performing Arts are not a theatre group who shy away from challenging theatre; just look what a success "Frankenstein" was last year.

Every show they perform, they also give something back by way of supporting a special charity. This production is supporting the National Aids Trust and they are collecting for this worthy charity at every performance.

"tick...tick... BOOM!" is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 6 May.