Review: Here & Now: The Steps Musical At The Wales Millennium Centre
Attention shoppers! Here & Now: The Steps Musical is fun, colourful and outright camp, essentially a love letter to queer culture that knows exactly how to party. It’s camper than a row of tents!
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Here & Now: The Steps Musical is at the Wales Millennium Centre until 7th of Feb
Cast of HERE & NOW, credit: Pamela Raith
Want theatre, drag and a pop concert rolled into one two-hour blast? This is it.
The show follows four supermarket workers and friends, Caz, Vel, Neeta and Robbie. As Caz’s 50th birthday approaches, she wants nothing more than her three friends to be as happy in love as she is, until it all comes crashing down when her husband leaves her. Hook-ups, partners (both good and bad) and one fabulous drag queen await the core four as they face their demons and try to find love.
Throughout the show, the cast sing iconic Steps songs. Anyone who has ever caught themselves singing along to Tragedy or 5,6,7,8 will love watching, and perhaps joining in, especially as the end number encourages everyone to stand up and dance.
For the character of Caz, you need a performer who can sing brilliantly, dance smoothly and captivate an audience. Lara Denning does all this and more, displaying excellent chemistry with every other performer on stage. Her voice is incredibly strong, and she does the iconic songs complete justice.
Cast of HERE & NOW, credit: Pamela Raith
Vel was played by two actors across the performance: Jacqui Dubois in the first half and Rosemary Annabella Nkrumah in the second. Dubois was hilarious as Vel, commanding the stage with both her presence and her voice, iconic, bold and fun. Despite only being able to perform for the first half, Dubois showcased a huge range, and it was disappointing not to see her return for act two. I speak for everyone at Culture Cardiff in wishing her well and sending our love.
Taking over after such a strong performance is no easy task, and understudy work is incredibly demanding. Rosemary Annabella Nkrumah stepped up impressively, singing the house down as Vel. Already a standout in the ensemble, she more than proved herself in the role.
Neeta, played by Rosie Singha, and Ben, played by Ben Darcy, were both fun and wonderful performers who shone whenever they were on stage. Robbie was played at this performance by Dean Rickards, who brought warmth and energy to the role and fit seamlessly into the group dynamic.
RuPaul’s Drag Race star River Medway performed as the fabulous Jem, drag queen and Robbie’s partner. A true scene-stealer, Medway was everything. During their solo performance of Chain Reaction, the audience roared as Medway stepped out dressed as frozen goods, revealing a bodysuit underneath. It was nothing short of iconic.
Finally, the brilliantly flamboyant store manager Patricia, played by Coronation Street’s Sally Ann Matthews, was a perfect addition to an already stellar cast. As the kids would say, she served hard. Slipping effortlessly between accents, Matthews was hilarious and commanding throughout.
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River Medway as Jem in HERE & NOW, credit: Pamela Raith
The set design was playful and effective, with most of the show taking place inside the supermarket Better Best Bargains. The lighting popped with bright pinks, purples and blues, only adding to the fun and celebratory atmosphere.
It is not an easy task to meaningfully weave pop songs into a narrative, but Here & Now: The Steps Musical does it brilliantly. The first half reels you in as you get to know the characters, before a dramatic end to act one. The second act explores the consequences of Caz’s decisions as she tries to fix what has gone wrong and support those around her.
At its heart, the show delivers a simple but heartfelt message, sometimes what you think will make you happy is different from what actually will.
