The Great British Bake Off Musical

This was the Scottish amateur premiere production of this comedic but heart warming musical based on the popular TV series and the company deserve every plaudit for taking a risk on this show, only written during the pandemic, and having it’s first performance in early 2023. But my goodness did it pay off – rising like a fluffy, light Victoria Sponge! The two presenters of the show – Kim (played by Rhona Marshall) and Jim (played by Ian Towns) made an excellent pairing introducing the contestants and baking challenges with a light touch and lots of humour. The judges – Dame Pam Lee (played by Wendy Ross) and Phil Hollinghurst (played by Steven Close) – were another excellent pairing with the banter between themselves and with the contestants adding much to the comedy. Their singing and dancing weren’t too shabby either as shown in their duet “I’d Never Be Me Without You” and Dame Pam proved her dexterity when she performed a cartwheel during her number with the dancers “Keep On Keeping Up” which opened Act 2. The contestants would be familiar to those who followed the TV show including a matriarchal figure, the self-confident winner-at-all-costs and the shy self doubter. Alex Flett was perfectly cast as the motherly Babs, an East Londoner always ready with a shoulder to cry on and a cheeky retort to Phil’s attempts at humour. Her strong singing voice was shown to it’s best in her solo “Bab’s Lament” in which she fantasises about a relationship with Phil whilst backed by the male chorus dressed in Phil wigs and costumes. Kyle Anderson played Dezza – a vegan hippy who was first to be sent home but kept popping back in case a back-up contestant was needed – with great comedic effect. Pouya Ahmadpouri was making his Aberdeen stage debut as Hassan - an Iranian student out to prove himself and to make his family proud through his baking skills – and showed good, strong acting skills especially in the relationship he formed with Francesca (played by Holly Shepherd Edmonds). Francesca was using her baking skills to hide the hurt she felt at being unable to have children of her own despite being a teacher to 32 children. Her rendition of the emotional song ”Grow” in which she explains this was beautifully sung with feeling. Heidi Kane played Izzy the Cambridge University student and self-professed achiever as to the manor born as she set out in her solo “Obviously” and in the actions she took to undermine her fellow bakers. James Stephen was very strong as Russell the older gay man – an engineer and a perfectionist – using a ruler to make sure his creations were of the correct proportions but a bit socially awkward with his fellows. The standout performers for me were Alisdair Sneden as widowed father Ben and Janet Renfrew as nervous Blackpool lass Gemma. Gemma’s powerful voice was shown to it’s best in her solos “ Somewhere in the Dough” and “Rise” and in the comical duet with Ben “The Perfect Petit Fours”. The growing attraction between theses two characters was beautifully handled. Ben’s interaction with his daughter Lily - the power behind his throne - (played at this performance by young Sofia Middleton) was also beautifully handled as displayed in their duet “My Dad”. The chorus singing and movement was of the high standard we have come to expect from this company. The costumes were present day and were appropriate to each character. The set was relatively simple with the majority of the changes being carried out by the cast. Congratulations everyone at AOC Production for once again bringing a professional standard show to the people of Aberdeen.

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