Review: Carnaby Street at the Hackney Empire

Carnaby Street

Hackney Empire

Reviewed on Tuesday 9th April 2013

Carnaby Street in a new, colourful musical which transports you back to the Sixties. The show follows a working class boy from Liverpool as he secures a record deal and attempts to become a music icon... but not all is as it seems.

Carnaby Street takes far too long to get going and at first the storyline is very vague, feeling very similar to Dreamboats and Petticoats. However, as the show progressed into Act Two the storyline actually picked up, while it is extremely cheesy there is enough going on for Carnaby Street to become engaging.

The cast are absolutely incredible. After recently starring as geeky Michael Dork in the West End production of Loserville, it is great to see Aaron Sidwell excel in a completely different role (Jack). Aaron sings the role without fault and brings extra energy to the stage. 

Strong performances also come from Verity Rushworth, I particularly enjoyed her rendition of Lulu's Shout (which is still stuck in my head), Matthew Wycliffe who shows off his impressive vocal talents as Jude and Paul Hazel who is in his element as Lily The Pink. The ensemble and on-stage band are also delightful and hugely talented.

But without doubt it is Tricia Adele-Turner who completely steals the show as Jane. The character is unexpectedly intriguing. At first I presumed she was the villain of the piece but she turns out to be quite vulnerable. Tricia brings the West End to Hackney with her unbelievable vocal control - her belt sent shivers down my spine while the softer side of her voice has a beautiful tone. She portrays the role perfectly and clearly has an exciting future ahead of her. 

The main problem with Carnaby Street is the script which at times is extremely poor and cringey. Carl Leighton-Pope and Robert Johns have included too many one-liners which feel completely out of place (and last night fell flat with the audience). With a show such as Carnaby Street is is vital that you allow the audience time to get into it. 

The musical's website proudly states 30 classic Sixties hits are included; however, some of the musical numbers feel slightly out of place, as if they have just been squeezed in for the sake of it. I also found the role of Al the Newspaper Seller highly irritating. He comes on between every scene reading a headline from the Sixties. At first this is funny but eventually becomes highly predictable and annoying. Gregory Clarke is not to blame, he plays the part to the best of his ability.

If you love the music of the Sixties you will quite simply love Carnaby Street. It was wonderful to see parents introducing the younger generation to this iconic era. The show has a few faults but the entire cast are amazing and put in 100% to every single scene and musical number. Carnaby Street has a high energy finale which gets the audience up on their feet, singing and dancing along. You will be singing Sixties songs for days!

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

andrew@westendframe.com

Carnaby Street runs at the Hackney Empire until Sunday 14th April before embarking on a UK Tour.

Please visit www.carnabystreetthemusical.com for further information and to book tickets.

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