– Advertisement –
Get the crop tops and glitter hairspray out, a brand new musical has stomped its way onto the Opera House stage. Here & Now is packed full of late 90s and noughties bangers from the iconic band Steps, and this feel-good musical will have you boot scootin‘ all the way home.
The Opera House had gone all out for the opening night of the shiny new Steps musical, Here & Now, complete with a pink carpet, drag queens galore, and the iconic band themselves even stopping by to see the show. The Here & Now musical is set in a supermarket, and follows the story of four friends as they embark on a Summer of Love, set to a smash hit soundtrack of Steps songs.
Here & Now at The Opera House
LtoR Jacqui Dubois as Vel, Blake Patrick Anderson as Robbie, Rosie Singha as Neeta & Rebecca Lock as Caz in HERE & NOW, credit Pamela Raith
Better Best Bargains employees Caz, Vel, Neeta and Robbie are the besties you can only find while working in retail. Inseparable on shift, the pals are often found gossiping on aisles 5,6,7,8 and hiding behind shelves from store manager Patricia. But when they all decide to make a pact on a pineapple to back themselves and find love before Caz’s big 50th birthday, their lives are turned upside down.
Checkout Supervisor Caz, played by Rebecca Lock, is giving main character energy as all of her friends rally round to support her during a shock breakup from her husband, while dealing with complicated love lives of their own.
Neeta, played by Rosie Singha, fancies fellow employee Ben, but can’t get the guts to speak to him. Vel, Jackie Dubois, secretly has her eye on someone special, and Robbie, played by Blake Patrick Anderson, has never let himself fall for anyone, ever!
“A fluorescent fever dream of fun”
The staging for this show is a fluorescent fever dream of fun, the Y2K aesthetic is in overdrive. With brightly lit shelving surrounding the stage and shopping trolleys used in almost every scene, it’s like supermarket sweep on steroids.
The way the stage is set up makes you feel like you’re on shift with the gang, sets move seamlessly with Better Best Bargains ‘employees’ in hi-viz carting away cages and stacked shelving units with ease. The staff wear sparkly tabards, and even though they’re all in uniform, you can see the individuality in each costume, with each person putting their own spin on it.
“A fun soundtrack jam-packed with Steps hits”
The soundtrack to Here & Now is jam-packed with Steps hits, sang by the incredible cast. Rebecca Lock and Rosie Singha are a pair of powerhouse vocalists, hiding behind shy sales advisor personas, receiving huge amounts of applause during both the show and the encore. Jukebox musicals often shoehorn in a few songs which might not quite fit the show, but they’re too good not to include.
Here & Now is so extra, every song fits the scene perfectly. The Halfprice Hoedown, for example, which was set to the boot scootin’ song 5,6,7,8, was a hilariously chaotic, camp masterpiece, made complete by the over-the-top costumes and dancers strutting along self-service checkouts.
Drag Race star River Medway, who plays Jem/ Amanda Snog, performs an incredible rendition of Chain Reaction, which makes you feel like you’ve been transported to a gay nightclub in the 90s, complete with silver spandex costumes, disco balls and dancers.
Tongue-in-cheek jokes, over-the-top costumes and a drag queen dancing on a washing machine
River Medway (centre) as Jem in HERE & NOW, credit Pamela Raith
While the show doesn’t take itself seriously at all, with tongue-in-cheek jokes, over-the-top costumes and a drag queen dancing on a washing machine, there are some really relatable storylines running throughout the show.
During Caz’s heartbreaking rendition of Heartbeat, it’s revealed that she and her (now ex) husband had a son, Jack, who was born sleeping. This sensitive topic was handled expertly by the writers, allowing Caz to speak openly about her son throughout, without brushing it off or becoming a forgotten plot point. The show overall has unexpected plot twists and turns at every corner, with lots of dramatic gasps from the audience as secrets are revealed.
Here & Now is a brilliant representation of the queer and LGBT+ community, with coming-out stories that have happy endings, drag queens that aren’t just a gimmick, and the straight older mum friends you meet at work who will protect you vehemently.
Here & Now is one of those shows where the cast and crew give it their all until the very end, and last night was no exception. If you’d have snuck out during the ‘final’ bows, you would have missed an epic ending.
The iconic band Steps, who watched the performance from the stalls, took to the stage to join the cast and performed a Steps Megamix medley to a stunned audience. A brilliant ending to a fabulous show!
This show is an epic rollercoaster of emotions, with a camp twist and an incredible soundtrack that will transport you back to the noughties.
Tickets for Here & Now at The Opera House
Here & Now is an absolute smash hit, running until the 13th of September. You better stomp on down to the opera house to catch it; it’d be a tragedy to miss it.
You can get tickets by clicking here
– Advertisement –