The Great British Bake Off Musical

It’s only a short journey from my hometown of Stone to The Little Theatre in Donnington where I’m always guaranteed a warm welcome and friendly reception. And just as I’ve come to expect in recent years, this hugely talented company were on top form yet again in another major triumph with their latest spectacular production of ‘The Great British Bake Off Musical’ I had the pleasure of watching on Thursday evening. Most certainly, if there was ever a clear example of ‘putting icing on the cake’, then this latest theatrical epic had a very generous covering!

A relatively new work with book and lyrics by Jake Brunger and music and lyrics by Pippa Cleary, the show is based on the BBC 2 and Channel 4 baking competition of the same name and premiered at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham in July 2022. The show transferred to London’s West End for a twelve-week limited run at the Noël Coward Theatre in 2023 where it featured some members of the original Cheltenham cast reprising their roles.

I have to admit not being a huge follower of the television programme having only watched a few episodes since the days when Mary Berry was a judge in the first series which aired on our screens in 2010, but I was still looking forward to this new musical version of the programme with the promise of catchy tunes and recognisable characters to capture the heartwarming spirit of baking in a great evening’s entertainment which was clearly set to rise as quickly as an oven full of Yorkshire Puddings!

As we took our seats in the theatre, there was time to admire the fabulous open stage set which had been cleverly designed by Stewart Lee based on the bunting-draped marquee used in the television series with lots of bright colours to enhance the overall picture. The main theatre house tabs had been abandoned to allow more depth to the stage in front of the eight baking stations which had initially been staggered in position, four on either side of the stage, to allow a clear view of the contestants and provide a larger area for the presenters, judges, dancers and ensemble to work. The benches themselves were tastefully painted in pastel colours and were not entirely static and cleverly moved about in and around scenes as part of the show’s choreography. Each station included a selection of utensils and equipment as well as various sized bowls and a food mixer. A large upright refrigerator was positioned on the right-hand side of the stage and on the left-hand side a small performance area had also been created.

As this new and exciting musical is presented entirely as a live television programme, the show also gave the actual stage crew, usually confined to the wings and moving scenery about in semi or total blackout, the opportunity to be seen and heard, cleverly disguised as studio technicians and runners, and how well and efficiently they performed.

Following in the footsteps of the television programme, the show had two main presenters and two celebrity judges, and in this latest stage production, each couple was perfectly matched with the chitchat between themselves and the contestants, adding a huge amount of fun to every aspect of the performance.

As the two presenters, Danny Clayton as Jim and Zoe Hailey as Kim, were a perfect pairing and worked exceptionally well together, humorously introducing the contestants and detailing the baking challenges they had to face with great confidence and skill. Initially dressed as a caveman and cavewoman, their vocal introductions at the start of the show were also very well sung and delivered.

As the two judges, Geoff Powell as Phil Hollinghurst, a dead ringer in both looks and voice for TV Celebrity Paul Hollywood and with the most fabulous Liverpudlian accent, and Sue Rawlings as Dame Pam Lee, a national treasure and widely experienced life-long baker, also gave excellent performances. I loved the banter between the two of them, the close relationship they quickly established with the contestants and the ongoing encouragement they provided. Dame Pam even let her hair down and joined the dancers and stage crew in a very energetic and rousing rendition of ‘Keep On Keeping On’ to open Act Two and I simply loved her duet with Phil, ‘I’d Never Be Me Without You’, beautifully sung with great feeling and certainly one of the highlights of the evening.

As for the contestants themselves, whilst as diverse as a Cambridge student, totally confident that she would take home the crown, to a retired dinner lady from London, the clever mix of personalities and vocal talents that you might get in the TV show each year was as bright and cheerful as a sprinkling of hundreds and thousands! And as they met the various day-to-day challenges, the enthusiasm and talent they all displayed made for some very clever and interesting ‘bakes’ and creations both simple and complex. Gemma’s replica of Blackpool Tower was just one particularly outstanding highlight.

Both Gemma (Jennifer Olenik-Pritchard) and Ben (Stephen Oliver-Davies) gave very  strong and meaningful performances with superb all-round vocals. Gemma had spent most of her early years caring for her late mother in Blackpool and had been called onto the show as a backup contestant even though she lacked confidence as a baker. A perfect match for Ben, a policeman from Bristol, as the caring dad to his young daughter, Lily, following the death of his wife, his relationship with Gemma was clearly set to blossom as the show progressed.

Lily was beautifully played in a stand-out performance by Grace Jones, displaying a very loving nature and clearly only wanting the absolute best for her dad.

The sincerity of Grace and Stephen’s duets of ‘My Dad’ and reprise of ‘I’d Never Be Me Without You’ were sung with great feeling. The fun of Jennifer and Stephen’s rendition of ‘The Perfect Petitfours’ also contrasted well with their reprise of the more poignant ‘Don’t Send Me Home’. Jennifer’s rendition of ‘Rise’ was also beautifully performed.

I should also note at this point that the role of Lilly was shared by Grace with Jennifer’s daughter, Anya, at alternate performances. Whilst I wasn’t able to see Anya on stage, I was told that she too gave wonderful stand-out performances.

As the fashionable Italian art teacher who now lives in Bognor Regis, Nina Aver, gave a very evocative performance as Francesca. Obviously a truly kind and personable individual, she used her baking skills to disguise the hurt of infertility and not being able to have children of her own despite now being a primary school teacher with a class of thirty-two. Nina’s rendition of the emotional song ‘Grow’ in which she explained her feelings was beautifully performed and a real tearjerker.

As Izzy, the 21-year-old Cambridge University student from the home counties, Jess Stephens gave a superb performance. An incredibly ambitious young lady, right from the start she spent most of the competition assuming that she would beat all the other contestants and take home the crown. Her featured song ‘Obviously’ was almost an ode to winning as she clearly laid out her route to the finishing line.

A retired dinner lady with three ex-husbands under her apron, London East-Ender, Babs, majestically played by Helen Madden, took on a motherly role to the other contestants and was always ready to help with a shoulder to cry on. She also made no secret of her growing attraction to Phil who she comically fantasised about as a fourth husband and ‘naked chef’ in ‘Bab’s Lament’ towards the end of the show. Another impressive performance.

The youngest member of the group was Hassan, played by George Price, originally from  the Syrian capital Damascus and now a sixth-form student in Wembley. With an incredibly positive and optimistic personality and a love for baking, he brought his lucky t-shirt to the competition, confident that it would help him to succeed even though it mysteriously went missing later in the piece.

Aeronautical engineer and man of science and precision, Russell (Mike Rawlings) entered the competition hoping to use his graphs and charts as a means to further his progress in the daily baking challenges. With a sparkling personality and glorious tenor voice which came to the fore in ‘The Handshake Song’, Mike created many comedic moments throughout the production and gave a noticeably confident and enjoyable performance.

Dezza, played by Simon Roberts, left his canal boat home to join the competition. A forward-thinking vegan, his passion for the environment and animal rights were well portrayed. Despite being eliminated early in the competition, he refused to admit defeat and kept reappearing completely out of the blue, even once out of the upright refrigerator, and having to be escorted off the set by security.

There was not as many dance routines as you would usually see in a stage musical, but those included were choreographed and performed to an extremely high and exciting standard.

I also liked the way that some of the competitor’s utensils were cleverly manoeuvred in complete unison to the music, especially when the mixing bowls, posing as hats were lifted and lowered over their heads.

All the individual vocals, duets and company numbers were performed to an exceptionally high standard with some of the most powerful harmonies I have heard for a long time. The sound too was very well controlled by Ryan Whiffen with a perfect balance struck between the on-stage performers and the band.

As I’ve commented on previous visits to Donnington, the theatre has obviously moved with the times and installed an impressive amount of LED stage lighting which was well designed by CJ Allen and Lucy Stevens and operated throughout the show by Aggie Johnstone.

The costumes co-ordinated by Nina Aver were present day and perfectly appropriate to each character. The dancers added a touch more colour especially in ‘Keep On Keeping On’ where they each sported sparkly Union Jack tops.

But, as always, my final comments, and probably the most important, must go to Director, Vikki Lee whose skill and creative talent had honed every aspect of this wonderful production to the very highest of theatrical standards. To Musical Director, CJ Allen, for his brilliant direction of all the musical numbers and the accompaniment of his magnificent band of musicians, and to Nina Aver for the sparkling choreography.

Many congratulations also to Producer, Kimberley Roberts, Stage Manager, Sarah Bishop, Assistant Stage Manager, Vicki Anderson-Stevens and Show Technical Manager, Lucy Stevens for the exceptionally smooth running of the production.

I must also mention the very colourful and comprehensive souvenir programme that had been designed by Jessie Bracken which I will most certainly submit to the annual NODA competition.

Thank you so much for inviting me to see ‘The Great British Bake Off Musical. My only disappointment was that I didn’t get to taste any of the cakes! Only joking. I’m already looking forward to visiting you all again later in the year.

Chris C Bell
Regional Representative
NODA West Midlands District 2

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