Review: Mamma Mia! - Norwich Theatre

Review by April Nash

With the current heatwave, it doesn’t feel like a stretch that audiences are being transported away to a small island in Greece for Mamma Mia! at the Norwich Theatre Royal this week. A jukebox musical built entirely around the 1970s pop catalogue of the Swedish group ABBA, with music and lyrics composed by band members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

The book follows twenty-year-old Sophie (Lydia Hunt) who, after discovering her mother’s diary from the year she was conceived, finds three potential candidates for her father: Sam Carmichael (Luke Jasztal), Bill Austin (Mark Goldthorp), and Harry Bright (Richard Meek). Hoping to have her father walk her down the aisle, Sophie has secretly invited all three men to her wedding, signing the invitations in her mother's name, Donna (Jenn Griffin), without her knowledge. And this farcical premise is where we meet all our characters, the day before the wedding.

Book-wise it’s a funny idea; but not particularly well written and having seen the film a number of years ago, I didn’t have high expectations going in.

The transition from speaking-to-song is particularly clunky in places (the danger of using pop songs instead of writing specifically for the story) with more than one occasion where I felt the shoe-horning of a song really didn’t serve the piece, leaving the cast working overtime to make it fit the context for the characters and the story, with mixed results.

Hunt as Sophie was the best at navigating this line, and sang beautifully throughout too. She was able to deliver complex emotions through lyrics that didn’t quite serve her, which made her performance all the more impressive; she carried the first Act, with her mother's best friends (Sarah Earnshaw as Tanya and Rosie Glossop as Rosie) a very close second.

The friend’s numbers Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, and Take a Chance on Me, led by Earnshaw and Glossop, were joyful and hilarious. There is something so refreshing about seeing women be silly on stage; it really sold the characters, their friendship and was thoroughly entertaining for the audience watching.

The three potential dads (Jasztal, Goldthorp, and Meek) took on their roles well, each distinct and without macho bravado (everyone under the circumstances is pretty understanding in this story!)

Sarah Earnshaw, Jenn Griffin, and Rosie Glossop as Tanya, Donna, and Rosie Photo credit: Brinkhoff/Moegenburg

Sadly I found Griffin’s Donna a little flat in Act One, shown up by the animated performances of those around her, but I was blown away in the second half. Her rendition of The Winner Takes It All was powerful and full of emotion. I found myself agreeing with a lady behind me as she muttered semi-under her breath “you get it girl” during the climax of the song. 

The production's comedy, choreography, and levels of detailing in numbers like Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! and Voulez-Vous were particular highlights, the energy in the ensemble really carrying the movement of the piece forward (as well as all the set).

Do I feel that there’s a few too many ballads back-to-back in the second half of the show? Yes. Do I think that you don’t have to have every song in its entirety? Yes. Did I have a brilliant evening? Undoubtedly, yes. I’ve been quite critical, but it doesn’t stop Mamma Mia! from being the sensation that it is. 

Where this show really works is that it is brimming over with humour and joy. With its campy concept, recognisable songs, and themes of friendship, family, and love (and everyone on their feet dancing during its spectacular finale) it’s a great evening of entertainment.

Mamma Mia! continues at Norwich Theatre Royal until 11 July.