REVIEW: The Great British Bake Off Musical on the Noel Coward Theatre

The Great British Bake Off – the hit TV present that’s taken audiences all around the world by storm. Also, the musical no person requested for, and possibly there’s good cause. 

If you’ve seen the TV present you’ll be very aware of the premise of this musical. Eight bakers, two presenters and two judges. Through the musical, we flippantly discover these eight aspiring bakers guided by our two presenters with the occasional look of our two very well-loved presenters. Other than that, there’s not a lot foundation for this present. 

Where the musical struggles is it doesn’t take the comedy far sufficient; while there are a couple of humorous songs, the jokes get outdated in a short time and the parody by no means goes far sufficient for us to be tearing up in hysterics. It’s nearly as if this present is defending the model while making an attempt to level enjoyable at it, all of which falls flat in a storyline thinner than Paul Hollywood’s filo pastry. 

The musical has an unimaginable forged, full of high musical theatre expertise who do what they’ll with the non-existent character improvement and boring storyline. We by no means get too deep into the characters and subsequently don’t actually care sufficient about them, so when the winner is about to be introduced on the finish, we don’t actually care what the end result is. And by the precise end result, neither do the writers. 

The star of the present is Charlotte Wakefield who performs Gemma, as the principle focus within the manufacturing she does an excellent job with the fabric she’s given. She offers a really actual and pure efficiency which brings out the comedy within the writing delicately. Her eleven o’clock quantity ‘Rise’ was a spotlight of the present with killer vocals and a really considerate efficiency. Damian Humbley additionally brings out comparable qualities within the piece, making the romantic relationship a candy contact to the present. 

Whilst there are some excellent performances within the present, none might be pulled out as a result of the event of their characters was so poor. Not at fault with the performers, however with the writing by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary. There are a couple of good numbers within the present however they’re only a few and much between. Nothing goes deeper than the floor and even in touching moments the writing feels unnatural and subsequently we battle to attach with it. 

The present is sweet however fails to ship the comedy or coronary heart we get from the TV present. With a gaggle of very gifted performers doing the best possible they’ll, the precise materials is what lets this present down. I’m certain this will probably be a success with Bake Off followers however for somebody wanting a very good evening on the theatre, this isn’t the present for you. 

Review by Mark Swale 

Rating: ★★ 

Seat: Grand Circle, B18 | Price of Ticket: £62.75