The Great British Bake Off Musical

It was great to see COMIC Theatre Company return to Bromsgrove’s Artrix stage with their version of The Great British Bake Off Musical.  Would they rise to the occasion, or would the whole thing end up as more of a soggy bottom?  Well, I’m happy to say that this energetic, engaging show achieved the musical equivalent of Star Baker!

The Great British Bake Off Musical is, of course, based around the famous TV show, which is very faithfully reproduced, even down to the theme music.  The show follows the fortunes of a group of competitors, until we were left with the final three (although the identity of the winner was cleverly left to the audience to imagine for themselves!) 

The curtains opened onto a very faithful looking recreation of the famous Bake Off tent, complete with colourful bunting and pastel coloured cooking stations.  The framed photos of the shows real-life presenters adorning the back wall was a very nice touch.  The set provided a really strong background for the action, as did the occasional appearance of (very heavy looking) TV cameras hefted by members of the crew and harassed looking crew members wielding clipboards and headsets, all of which added to the realistic feel of the show

COMIC assembled a very strong ensemble cast for this show, each of whom took their chance to shine.  The show began with hosts Jim (Steven Leonard) and Kim (Rebecca Lydon) enacting one of the famous ‘cold opens’ for which the programme is known – in this case being dressed as cavemen discovering the secret of baking.  Later there was also a very funny scene in which they hosted a cake-based boxing match!  These two were spot on in their depictions of the presenters, demonstrating that slightly false, stagey enthusiasm of their real-life equivalents. 

We soon met the contestants, a selection of archetypes that would be instantly recognisable to anyone who has watched the show.  So, we had knowing Cockney Grandma Babs (Jill Hughes), hippy vegan Dezza (Ian Underwood), talented Sudanese immigrant Hassan (Yosef Melake), uber-competitive youngster Izzy (Jess Holmes), camp engineer Russell (Liam McNally), earnest single dad Ben (Stuart McDiarmid), peppy Italian teacher Francesca (Joanne Kandola), and nervous replacement contestant Gemma (Lily Moore).  The actors did a great job of bringing some depth to these otherwise fairly stereotypical characters and developing a nice chemistry together, as, for example, we saw Izzy mature from aggressive win-at-all-costs to a more supportive friendship with her fellow competitors. 

Baking competition aside, the main plot of the show revolved around a burgeoning romance between Ben and Gemma.  It was pretty obvious where things were going once from their first, sticky handshake, and all of the expected beats were present and correct.  Stuart and Lily did a great job of making this romance feel real, so that by the end of the show I was really rooting for them to make it.  A word too for Penelope-Rain Barstow, who was perfect as Ben’s sassy young daughter Lily who, it turned out, had submitted his application for the show.  Such a confident performance, and she absolutely nailed her song ‘My Dad’ as well – a star in the making!

As the play progressed, and the contestants were whittled down, many of them got a moment in the spotlight.  In ‘Grow’, Francesca sang movingly of her childlessness (a tricky job well done by Joanne Kandola, given that the lyrics were perhaps a little too on the nose).  Jess Holmes brought plenty of energy as she neatly outlined Izzy’s competitiveness in ‘Obviously’, whilst Lily Moore winningly showed us Gemma’s burgeoning confidence in ‘Rise’.  Last, but absolutely by no means least, was ‘Babs Lament’, in which she sung of her secret love for a certain silver fox presenter.  Jill Hughes knocked this one out of the park, bringing the house down with perhaps the loudest applause of the night. 

Of course, no rendition of Bake Off would be complete without the judges, so enter Beth Chisholm as Dame Pam Lee and Luke Hopson as Phil Hollinghurst (no prizes for guessing which really life pair they were inspired by!)  These two had great fun in spoofing their real-life counterparts – Phil with his Liverpool accent and hands constantly stuffed halfway into his pockets, and Pam with her obsession with alcoholic ingredients.  They also enjoyed a couple of great songs – Phil leading the company in ‘Slap it Like That’ and Pam turning on the style for ‘Keep on Keeping On’ – alongside an entertaining, vaudeville style duet ‘I’d Never Be Me Without You’. 

The cast was completed by a hard-working ensemble who represented the GBB crew, joining in the many group numbers with gusto.  Well done, then to Eleanor Gavin, Ella Wilkes, Rachel Brocklebank, Lewis Doley, Peter Holmes, Nina Warwick, and Michelle Westwood.  The group numbers provided some real highlights to this show, with the Act 1 closer ‘All the Way’ and the impressive and heartwarming Finale showing the whole company at their best. 

The show was well directed by Chloe Turner and her assistant Dan Wright, who kept the pace up well and added some nice touches such as a melted ice cream making a slow motion journey to the bin and Lily taking her Dad’s hand as the emotional climax to his story.  Musical director Chris Corcoran led a lively six-piece who didn’t miss a beat.  Some of the vocals were perhaps a bit quiet in the first half, which meant some of the lyrics were hard to hear, but happily this seemed to have been corrected after the interval (or maybe the cast just sang a bit louder?)

I must congratulate the backstage team, who worked wonders juggling a huge number of props and costume changes, all of which were executed seamlessly.  The props team also deserve a hearty pack on the back for not only kitting out the set so authentically but also for producing representations of a very large number of bakes.  Lighting was also very good, full of variety and with effective use of spotlighting enhancing the action at key moments.

This was a great fun show, and a hearty well done to everyone at COMIC for presenting such an entertaining version of this charming musical.  Handshakes all round!  I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Chris Davies, Regional Representative District 5

Having seen the original show in Cheltenham prior to it moving in to the West End where seen again I was delighted when the show became available for professional.

The recipe of a great show and COMIC Theatre Company resulted in a great evenings entertainment and I too must congratulate the whole company as there were no weak links.

I was delighted to speak with some of the cast members and others post show – it was most certainly handshakes all around. Great to have you back COMIC Theatre Company. I for one will be looking out with great anticipation upon your next show announcement.

Andy Brown, Regional Councillor NODA West Midlands

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