Review: Here & Now (Norwich Theatre)

Review by Hannah Smith

As someone that grew up in the 90s, the Steps phenomenon passed me by. I spent most of my time in mosh pits and sticky carpeted pubs and viewed the five piece vocal group as the cheesiest of cringe. However, the 90s was a long time ago now and my nostalgia tinted glasses are well and truly on, so it was with more enthusiasm than I would have had 20 plus years ago, that I headed to Norwich Theatre for the opening night of Here and Now, a campy jukebox musical featuring the music of Steps.

Written by Shaun Kitchener, this new musical follows the story of Caz, Vel, Neeta and Robbie, who work at the Better Best Bargains supermarket and whose lives are entwined by a shared friendship and determination to sort out their love lives and make a pact to enjoy their ‘summer of love’

The plot is arguably confetti light and some songs definitely felt shoehorned in at times rather than adding to the story. However, narrative subtlety isn’t the point here - the joy is in the stomp of the soundtrack. This combination of high energy songs, a neon set with echoes of supermarket sweep and a cast that were wonderfully unironic, meant that the overall effect was wildly entertaining.

Lara Denning as Caz (centre) and the cast of Here & Now - image courtesy of Norwich Theatre

There were mixed performances amongst the cast, with Jacqui Dubois as Vel looking a bit uncomfortable in some of the bigger dance numbers, but providing us with some great comedy moments with her struggle to break up ‘nicely’ with her simpleton boyfriend who just won’t take the hint. RuPaul’s Drag Race icon River Medway as Jem shows their command of the stage, with a gloriously high camp rendition of Chain Reaction, ending on top of a glittery freezer. Rosie Singha as the awkward and endearing Neeta also wowed with rich vocals and a lovely chemistry with Ben, understudied fabulously by Markus Södegren.

However, it was Lara Denning’s Caz that was the warm, sparkly driving force throughout the show, showcasing superb soaring razor sharp vocals with warmth and comic charm.

A definite highlight of the night was Denning’s rendition of Heartbeat. It shows the mettle of a performer when they can take an arguably average pop song and transform it into a gut wrenching soulful ballad. In fact there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, including my cynical companion on the night who summed it up perfectly when she said ‘crying at a Steps song wasn’t on my bingo card for tonight’.

No one would argue that Here & Now is doing anything theatrically groundbreaking, but what it does do is blend cheesy camp and nostalgia with real heart and tenderness, and in times such as these, it would be a tragedy to resist it.

Here & Now continues at Norwich Theatre until 19th April.