Theatre REVIEW: How Soon is Now? - ★★★★

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A new indie musical about mates, music and magic – finding your place and finding yourself.

“You open the door into this club. And the noise and the smell and the heat hit you. It smothers you. Jumps all over you. Gets right in. All that new and adventure and mischief.”

New Year’s Eve, 1997. Manchester. In Déjà Vus’, Spin Jim is on the decks and ready to take you into the new year. The whole place is electric.

Three girls are on the dancefloor. Polly and Angie are ready for a big night. Jean is lost and alone. The future awaits. New Labour, New Year, new horizons. After decades of grey, this is their time. But as midnight beckons, and darkness falls, will they find their light?

Set to a soundtrack of 90s classics, How Soon is Now? is an indie musical about mates, music and magic – finding your place and finding yourself.

There’s a club… would you like to go?

Where?

New Wolsey Theatre, Part of UK Tour

WEBSITE

Jan (Age 15) - ★★★★

"How Soon is Now? was an entertaining musical with great vibes throughout. Set in a club in Manchester on the night of New Year's Eve 1997, the show creates an exciting atmosphere which is elevated further by the live music played on stage. Music, from bands like The Smiths and Manic Street Preachers, gave the musical a nostalgic feel and made the audience feel like they were actually in a 90s club. Overall, the setting was amazing, but I felt that at times the story could have been developed further.

The live music was by far my favourite aspect of the show. The actors Darragh Cowlry, LJ Willow, and Theo Woolford managed to play multiple instruments flawlessly. Balancing acting with playing multiple instruments was very impressive. Darragh Cowlry, who played DJ Spin Jim was particularly great to watch. He was charismatic and funny as the DJ and played his instrument brilliantly throughout the whole performance. The music was a large part of the show and was really engaging throughout.

Another aspect of the musical that I really liked was the set, which was both unique and helped create that 90s feel. On one side of the stage there was a bus stop and a seat, while in the centre there was a disco floor that lit up, with a small bar area next to it. Above these areas was a bathroom, and even higher up was a fire escape. It was really interesting to see all these different locations and how they were all included in one set, without any walls separating them. This added depth to the performance and helped make the nostalgic setting feel more realistic. The lighting effects were also great, with the disco floor and lights around the whole set changing colours based on the mood of each scene. These effects made the overall set look even better and really immersed me in the musical.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this show as the live music is awesome and the 90s vibes are brilliant!"