"Tainted Love" by Richard Dawson & Lauren Riley.

Erewash Musical Society Youth Group.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

This is a new musical set in and around Long Eaton and set in the 1980's, packed with a soundtrack of some of the most iconic hits from the 1980's as well as some mentions of TV, radio, language and culture of the times.

Lisa has split from her husband and has moved herself and two children, 18 year old Tiffany and 12 year old Brian to a new town where she has a job at the local school as the head teacher. Tiffany has a job in the local club, Minskys, while Brian is enrolled at the same school where his mum is the headteacher. All three are finding their new lives a bit difficult to adapt to with Brian really missing his Dad and feeling that his Mum's time is all for Tiffany. Tiffany's slightly rebellious wild streak rears its' head while at work, which affects her social life, as well as her home life. But then things start to brighten up, but only after something dark happens.

I'm not a massive fan of jukebox musicals, but this has been written in such a way that the songs actually have relativity with the storyline, with some of the lyrics telling the story of the characters and the situations they encounter. The arrangements of the songs are another thing that I love in this musical. they are not just carbon copies of the songs, the pitch has been changed to match the young cast's singing abilities and some lyrics amended to fit the story.

Lisa is played by Lauren Hazeldine. In the past I have seen Lauren in many ensemble roles, and I am so pleased to see her in a main role like this. I got to hear her voice properly, and what a voice this young woman has. One of my favourite scenes is where she calls up her husband, who has left the family for another woman. You could feel the bitterness in her voice as she practically begged him to visit for their children's sake, and then confessed that she also missed him. When she sang "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" you could hear that emotional outpouring.

Eloise Chamberlain is Tiffany and it's so lovely to see Eloise in a leading role. As with Lauren, I was so pleased to get to hear Eloise's voice as a leading soloist, as opposed to being part of an ensemble. "Material Girl" is not an easy song to crack, but Eloise gave it all the sass it needed and set the pace for the rest of the musical. I also liked the duet with Lauren in "You Keep It All In".

The chemistry that was created with Mickey was lovely to see, and although Tiffany comes across as a hard nut to crack at the start, I loved the softness that Eloise brough to the character, the more we got to know her, as well as the reasons why she developed her outer protective exterior.

Brian is played by Finley Haigh. I honestly cannot remember seeing Finley before but this young man has straight away proven to be a very strong leading character, and more than that an impressive set of vocals. There are so many songs from this soundtrack that are anything but easy but Finley made all of his sound as if he was crooning along to the radio. or belting out the bangers in the shower; he made everything sound so easy. I especially enjoyed the duet he has with Lauren in Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't It Be Good", a song that completely summed up Brian's feelings and his Mum's, almost in a competitive style.

"I got it bad
You don't know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don't know when you've got it good
It's getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I'm sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fiber
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
I don't wanna be here no more"

Harry O'Boyle plays Mickey, the young man who spots Tiffany at work in Minsky's and asks her out. Harry is another one of those young actors who I really enjoy watching, and every time I see him on stage, he gets better and more watchable. I think that Harry's vocals are stronger than ever, as proven in "Don't You Want Me", a lovely cheesy choice he sings after being rebuked by Tiffany. Harry's version of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" is a belter, as is his choreography for that scene.

Kevin, who becomes Brian's best friend in and out of school, is played by Blake Hagan. I last saw Blake in "Guys n Dolls" playing a hapless American cop, so as soon as I saw Blake's name in the programme, I hoped that this character would be a comedy role, because Blake is a natural comedian on stage. I was right, there are so many comic scenes with Kevin and Brian which both young men deliver with gusto and realism.

Miss Booth, the teacher, is played by Emily O'Boyle. Not a major role but Emily made it a memorable role.

Chrissie, Minsky's bar manager is played by Juliette York.

Livvi Hickling is Nicole, Taylor Dilks plays Jenny, Erica is played by Gabriella Tilley.

Simone is played by Jessie Gatehouse, Jack Tuxford plays Justin, Ryan is played by Xander Thorpe; the bullies in Brian's class who naturally latch onto Brian, making his life not a pleasant one.

The Backing Singers, The "Taintees" are Eva Woodcock, Izzy Cole and Rose Staniford; looking glamorous and sounding smooth.

The ensemble is made up of Noah Hickling, Elis Moore, Joshuar Harris, Mollie Jerram, Lowri Moore, Clarissa Armitage, Heather Beardmore, Oliver Nolan and Myla Brown.

I have a tendency to watch the ensemble and while every one of the above named were absolutely superb, I have to pick out Noah Hickling because he seemed to be dancing like no one was watching. I love the enthusiasm he put into every second of stage time; this young man certainly has rhythm and is not afraid to show it. I also loved watching little Joshuar Harris who also gave it some. This was a dream ensemble because every one of them looked to be having the time of their lives this afternoon.

Directed by Richard and Laura Dawson, the pace's flow and ebb is spot on, and with many upbeat songs and moments, it was nice to slow down a bit for the more emotional moments. There are no punches pulled either, especially with the discussion of the broken family or with the situation that turns everything around. Another big plus for me was that it wasn't just the main characters that got to shine and the ensemble created a backing; many of the ensemble were given parts and songs that highlighted their ability, singing or otherwise. All in all, this is what a jukebox musical should look and sound like, and even though none of the cast were even born when this musical was set, they all embraced the culture and the language brilliantly. It's been decades since I heard anyone being called a "div", and that just made me grin.

This is a wonderful nostalgic trip for me, reminding me as I watched of personal times in my own life. My clubbing days where I used to be first on the dance floor to songs like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", the split between my parents with songs like "Against All Odds", and the happy memories before I lost my parents and several close friends all came flooding back with some of these song selections. That's the wonderful thing about music, one song can bring back all the good times, as well as the not so good times, and the eighties was my decade.

Choreographed by Lauren Riley, assisted by Ava Haylock. I can only imagine the fun this pair must have had planning the choreography for these musical numbers, especially for songs like "Mickey" and the brilliant "Billie Jean" section. I so hoped that the cast would Moonwalk, and they didn't disappoint me. 

Musical Directors are Chris Renshaw and George Parkinson. Not only did they do an incredible job vocally with this cast, the live music sounded so close to the original songs, there were times that seemed like backing tracks were used, but no, everything was played live, and I love the sound that made the eighties for me, the synth drum. I've seen so many of this ensemble performing in ensemble groups before, but when any one of them stepped out of the ensemble to sing, they all showed what capable soloists they are, and that is because the time taken with the MDs combined with individual talent.

The five piece live band, named The Pac Men, consist of George Parkinson (Keys 1), Martin Lewis (Keys 2), Chris Renshaw (Guitar), Tom Hickling (Drums) and Jeff Widdowson (Bass/Synth). The overture, which combined soundbites from TV and radio from the eighties was brilliantly blended into the medley of classics from the decade, and I hadn't heard Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F" for years, which sounded superb thanks to Jeff's synth playing.

There was even an illuminated trio of Pac Man figures on the front of the orchestra section and the band donned Pac Man T Shirts, which goes to show that everything relevant to this show was thought of and brought to the public eye. And it's often the little things that create the most attention and respect for the work that has gone into a production such as this.

So many classics in this musical including a gorgeous three way with Tiffany, Lisa and Brian in "Cruel Summer", a brilliantly fun "Goody Two Shoes" - both of these having different meanings in this musical to the original fun elements brought out by Bananarama and Adam Ant, "Misfit", "Mickey", "Mad World" which was a poignant song sung by Brian, and the uplifting "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" to close the musical with.

Set Design is by Mark Robbins and Bill Robbins, and this is another area that I loved because it was all self contained in what looked like giant rubik cubes. Everything needed for the scene changes were neatly slotted into the set on stage. If you've ever seen a touring production of "The Curious Case Of the Dog in The Night Time", that was the same where sections were pulled out of the set and then replaced, a brilliant idea. The upper part of the set is split into three, Lisa's sitting room, Tiffany's bedroom and the landing. Very clever in it's design.

Stage managed smoothly by Mark Robbins.

Sound design and operation is by Dave Dallard and Olivia Michaud. Absolutely flawless, which seems to be the norm nowadays. A perfect blend of sound and vocals.

Lighting design and operation is by Richard Chamberlain, assisted by Dave Martin. In expert hands the results are going to be as good as this.

Props and Wardrobe are thanks to EMUS Committee, Friends and Family.

I have said this over and over again this last couple of weeks, Youth Theatre is ripe with talented young actors and Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire have so much to show off, and rightly so. It also means that when some of these leave Youth productions, as some will after tonight's show, the future of local theatre is in excellent, and extremely talented hands, and feet, and vocal chords. And I for one is really looking forward to see what happens next for those leaving Youth Theatre groups. I do know that their talents will be in demand for many styles of theatre for many local theatre groups.

"Tainted Love" closes tonight at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.