The story follows Sophie, who is getting
married to her Fiancé Sky, She wants her father to be present at her wedding but
she doesn't know who he is. She steals her mother's diary and reads the
entries from the time when she was conceived and she finds out she has three
possible dads. She invites them all to the wedding and when her mother,
Donna, finds out they are all at her hotel she goes mad! The production is
directed by Phyllida Lloyd who does a brilliant job at working with the set
which was designed by Mark Thompson, the set is two white curved walls that move
around to create different locations. This clever piece of design makes the
production for me; too much set would have ruined this musical so Marks designs
work brilliantly within this show. Howard Harrison also produced a fantastic
lighting design in this show; it worked remarkably with the other design aspects
of the production. Although the design is very simple, it's perfect.
Something that people often don't think about when watching this production is
how such a simple design could work as great as it did.
Sally Ann Triplett plays Donna Sheridan in this production, she mothered Sophie brilliantly and the way she played the frustration of Donna was great to watch. However she did miss out on some of the big things for Donna, it seems some of the emotions in 'The Winner Takes it All' were lost in the theatrical side of the number but overall she gave a good performance. Joanna Monro as Rosie was brilliant, she really brought so much comedy to the role and after playing it for almost 5 years she must be a pro at knowing how to play it perfectly and she does just that! Kim Ismay as Tanya is also perfect casting, another actress who has been involved with the show for many years. All three actresses had an amazing relationship on stage and they really were brilliant together! Gary Milner, Neil Roberts and James Gaddas were great as the dads. Not one over shone another but all were great aspects to the show.
Sally Ann Triplett plays Donna Sheridan in this production, she mothered Sophie brilliantly and the way she played the frustration of Donna was great to watch. However she did miss out on some of the big things for Donna, it seems some of the emotions in 'The Winner Takes it All' were lost in the theatrical side of the number but overall she gave a good performance. Joanna Monro as Rosie was brilliant, she really brought so much comedy to the role and after playing it for almost 5 years she must be a pro at knowing how to play it perfectly and she does just that! Kim Ismay as Tanya is also perfect casting, another actress who has been involved with the show for many years. All three actresses had an amazing relationship on stage and they really were brilliant together! Gary Milner, Neil Roberts and James Gaddas were great as the dads. Not one over shone another but all were great aspects to the show.
Charlotte Wakefield as
Sophie Sheridan is another example of perfect casting in this show, she brings
an innocence to the role with a fun side which translates great on stage.
Her relationship with Abiola Ogunbiyi (Ali) and Tasha Taylor Johnson (Lisa)
was something I found really fun to watch! Andreas Gyllander as Sky was a
good sky, the character as a whole doesn't have a lot of stage time but for what
he had he was great. He and Charlotte had a great on stage presence together.
The ensemble in this show were fabulous, whenever there was a big
number everyone in the audience just wanted to join in with them! The
narrative of this show isn't great, admittedly, but it's not a 'musical theatre'
piece exactly, it's a fun night out and you're guaranteed a good night with this
show. I thoroughly enjoyed this show, there is nothing like this on the
West End at the moment and I'm not surprised it in its 13th Year.
No matter how many faults you can find in this production there is no
denying it's a fantastic piece of entertainment and anybody would enjoy this
show whether you're 8 or 80! If you're looking for a night of entertainment,
laughs, classic songs and a show which will have you dancing in your seat then
THIS is the show for you.
Rating: ***
Mamma Mia! currently plays at the Novello Theatre
