48 years ago, on the 6th April 1974, four Swedish singers took to the stage of the Brighton Dome to perform a song about a Napoleonic battle and, after they won the Eurovision Song Contest, they went on to change the world of pop music forever. Fast forward to March 2022 and the music of ABBA is back in Sussex with the opening of Mamma Mia! at the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne, as part of its national tour.
Judy Craymer’s brave idea of turning the superb sing-a-long songs of ABBA into a musical has paid off splendidly, in every sense – as over 60 million people around the world have seen and loved the stage show, which is still running is the West End after 23 years, and, judging by the huge crowd in the auditorium, the latest national tour is a huge success as well.
This is largely because Catherine Johnson has cleverly weaved the songs into her script, making the production much less like a “jukebox musical”, as the songs and storyline go hand in hand. The story tells of Donna Sheridan (Sara Poyzer) who decided to “live the dream” on a Greek island but instead found herself pregnant, by one of three consecutive lovers. Now a single mum, with her daughter Sophie (Jena Pandya) about to marry Sky (Toby Miles), at just 20 years old, what we see is a musical tale of love, loss, regret and the search for an identity.
In the centre of a box set, painted in shades of blue reminiscent of both sea and sky, is the very simple, but versatile, scenery representing Donna’s Taverna on the Greek island of Kalokairi. The simplicity of the set is the first clue that the focus of this show is not the scenery. Although they are absolutely superb, the focus isn’t even the cast of thirty incredibly talented actors – the star of this show is most definitely the catalogue of million selling worldwide smash hits that defined an era and made ABBA one of the most recognised bands in the history of modern popular music.
Donna’s two best friends, unmarried and carefree Rosie (Nicky Swift), and the fabulously wealthy, three times married and divorced, Tanya (Helen Anker), are two of the first guests to arrive. These two actors make a superb comedy double act. Their timing, and playing off each other, works so well that the audience can’t help but laugh.
The songs are the pick of the crop from a huge catalogue of million selling hits and the choreography is tight and energetic, with some amazing highlights like Donna’s friend Tanya stylishly crushing one of the local lads, Pepper (James Willoughby Moore), in Does Your Mother Know? and in the dream sequence at the start of act two, played out to the last ABBA single of the 1980’s, Under Attack.
Unusually for a musical, the main male characters are fairly secondary to the strong women. The “Dads” still have opportunities to flesh out their characters, and they do so beautifully, but at the end of the day this is a musical where the ladies really are in charge. Harry (Daniel Crowder) gets his limelight in the subtly staged Thank You for the Music and in his duet with Donna, Our Last Summer, while Sam (Richard Standing) gets to shine in Knowing Me, Knowing You.
The third possible Dad, Bill (Phil Corbitt) doesn’t really get a solo spot as such, but watching him running away from a dangerously aroused Rosie, before giving in and romping on the floor with her, in Take a Chance on Me is one of the many highlights of the evening.
The show is packed with superbly staged numbers like the show-stopping Super Trouper sung by Donna, Rosie and Tanya, in the most amazing Abba-esque outfits you will ever see (until the finale), and Donna’s incredibly emotional rendition of The Winner Takes It All.
This is not a musical to change the world, it’s an evening of high-camp fun that captivates the whole audience who relish the chance to get up and dance in the “megamix” finale. And, when Donna asks “Do you want one more?” (the perfect excuse to take us back to where it all began by singing Waterloo) the answer is a resounding “Yes!”
Just like its West End cousin, the touring production of Mamma Mia is a faultless feelgood show, featuring fabulous music, that is guaranteed to have you dancing in the aisles.
***** Five Stars