Great songs, a funny and heart-warming story, colourful costumes, electrifying dance routines and a guest appearance by an iconic popstar… Now that’s what we call a recipe for a great musical! Brand new show NOW That’s What I Call A Musical promises all this and more when it visits Newcastle Theatre Royal (Tue 8 – Sat 12 Oct 2024).
Director and choreographer Craig Revel Horwood promises “fantastic tunes, a blast from the past, some amazing dancing, some great singing and an excellent story”. Audiences can also expect the ultimate playlist in a show that celebrates 40 years of the iconic NOW That’s What I Call Music compilations brand, with a particular focus on 80s classics by artists including Cyndi Lauper, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Tears For Fears and Spandau Ballet to name a few.
The story set in Birmingham in 1989 centres around school friends Gemma and April, where their lives revolve around pop music and dreams of snogging Rick Astley. Cut to Birmingham 2009 and they’re facing the most dreaded event of their adult lives – namely a school reunion where drama, old flames and receding hairlines all collide, and everything from the past begins to slot into place.
“There’s something in it for absolutely everyone,” Craig Revel Horwood says of the show’s across-the-board appeal, “I think teenagers will associate with the two girls – how they’re living their lives, their hopes and their dreams, and their aspirations just as much as adults will.”
The script is by award-winning comedian Pippa Evans, of whom Craig gushes: “She’s got a really great sense of humour and she’s a fantastic writer, not to mention a fantastic comic writer. She’s come up with some great twists in the tale.”
Having come to prominence as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, Craig has directed and choreographed a huge range of productions, from Strictly Ballroom to Sister Act, Follies and The Witches of Eastwick. He’s now bringing NOW That’s What I Call A Musical to the stage for the first time.
“It’s really exciting because with a brand-new musical you can be really creative,” he explains. “With this it’s about weaving all the great songs through the story, as well as making sure the story itself is strong. Comedy is a huge element in the show as well as a lot of heartfelt moments.”
After starting out as a dancer, Craig Revel Horwood worked on some of the nation’s biggest musicals and became a choreographer, director, and best-selling author. Craig is also a remarkable singer, and to celebrate the release of his debut solo album, Revelations, he will visit Newcastle Theatre Royal in 2025 and reveal his own, hidden talent in a Fab-U-Lous night of big songs, tall tales, and glamour with his performance of Revelations – Songs Boys Don’t Sing (Sun 13 Apr 2025).
For Nina Wadia, who stars as Gemma, NOW That’s What I Call A Musical is not only a brand-new show, but her first-ever venture into musical theatre. “And I’m genuinely terrified,” she admits. “But I love challenges in my career, and I’ve tried every genre I think thus far, apart from musicals. I thought ‘Why not?'”
She grins. “Its 80s songs and you can sing them however you like as far as I’m concerned – as long as it’s with enthusiasm!”
Best-known for the groundbreaking sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and for playing Zainab Masood on EastEnders, the actress and OBE sees Gemma as a relatable character. “Her life didn’t quite go the way she expected it to. She depended a lot on her best friend and there’s a lot of love between them. I actually come from that kind of background myself, because my oldest friends are my school friends from the 80s.”
One of Nina’s fondest memories from that era is listening to NOW tapes on her Walkman in Hong Kong, where she grew up. “I’d wait until the weekend to buy them and at home people would complain about me playing them too loud. On my Walkman I could listen to them as loud as I liked.”
She grins again. “Those songs were the soundtrack to my life. If you fell in love you really fell in love and if you hurt, you really hurt. I remember everything being so dramatic in my teenage years.”
An 80s guest star will be appearing at each venue on the tour, playing themselves as they magically manifest to give the characters wisdom and advice as well as to sing some of their greatest hits. And Nina is already fan-girling over them, saying: “At the photo shoot I was all over them and they’re as excited as I am about doing the show. If I wasn’t in it, it’s the sort of thing I would definitely go and watch.”
Liverpudlian, chart-topping singer, Sonia will be guest starring in Newcastle “It’s going to be fab.” She enthuses. “The concept of the whole thing is just so exciting, telling the journey of these girls’ lives through music and what’s happened to them since they were friends at school. We all remember when we had our first boyfriend or girlfriend, our first break up, getting back together, all that stuff, and when you hear songs from that time it all comes flooding back.”
Sonia was just 17 when she signed a record contract with PWL and 18 when she bounced to the top of the charts with her debut single You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You, selling an incredible 350,000 copies and establishing herself as a bright new popstar with follow-ups like Can’t Forget You and Listen to Your Heart. “I was catapulted to fame and my whole life changed,” she grins. “I was travelling around the world and it was a fantastic whirlwind.”
She has fond memories of NOW albums. “I’d get the cassettes and listen to them constantly. Then to have my own song a NOW album was a dream come true. I was absolutely over the moon because you knew that there were no duds on there. They were the best of the best and when you bought one of the albums you didn’t even need to look at the tracklist on the back because all the songs were sure to be great.”
Having starred in many musicals over the years, Sonia adds: “There’s nothing better for the audience because they take you away from your troubles for a couple of hours and everyone on that stage is giving 100% because they want you to have the best time ever.”
NOW That’s What I Call A Musical plays Newcastle Theatre Royal Tue 8 – Sat 12 Oct 2024. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on +44 (0) 191 232 7010