Thursday Theatre Thoughts: Mamma Mia Review

Gabrielle Hammond

gabsbitesizeblogs@gmail.com

Hey theatre lot!

I watched Mamma Mia on Tuesday on its tour in Norwich and of course, you know the drill by now, I am going to review it.

It was my sister, Lillia's 18th birthday celebration when we went to watch it so our spirits were already on a high; and Mamma Mia is such a feel good musical so obviously they stayed high the whole night.

I have never seen Mamma Mia on stage before so it was a completely new experience for me. Obviously, I have seen the film and so I will firstly start with the similarities. The storyline itself is the same all the way through- there isn't any obvious changes to it. There is one new song that doesn't appear in either movies and that is Under Attack (the first song in act two- but, in the stage version it makes sense why they include it to add to the storyline). The other difference between the movie is that many songs take place in different situations then what it is in the movie; however, with the limitations of a stage in comparison to the endless opportunity for a movie- it is on reflection expected.

The actual cast for what we watched was on the whole great. The standouts being the hilarious Rosie and Tanya- they were phenomenal in their acting and character. Sky was also a great actor and had a lovely voice (he wasn't too bad to look at either haha). The voice of Donna was excellent too; however in my opinion the acting wasn't at the same standard (but again, this is only my opinion and it didn't impact anything). We had an understudy for Bill so the casting of ages was a bit off as he was significantly younger than the other two men and Donna. However, he was a great actor and singer so it was fine just a bit hard to get your head round.

The costumes and set were great too; you really felt you were in a little Greek island. The ensemble were amazing; they really gave impact to the songs. “Voulez-Vous” was impeccably delivered and impactful both in choreography and vocals. The live orchestra were also outstanding as always.

My highlight song was either “Voulez-Vous” or “Does Your Mother Know” (as Tanya was my favourite!).

To top the night off; me, Caitlyn and Lil tried to harmonise "Thank You For The Music" and “Chiquitita” during the interval- which turned out awfully only to find out that the directors of the show were behind us lol!

Anyways thank you for reading; and if you're going to watch it while it is in Norwich have so much fun!