Oh yes indeed, this musical really got me

REVIEW: Sunny Afternoon – Malvern Theatres (Tuesday, March 3 to Saturday, March 7).

Showtime! stars rating: *  *  *  *  *

I HAVE this abiding memory of that night during the mid-1960s when the Kinks visited my hometown of Rugby.

Not long into their set at the local town hall, all the band’s gear, apart from one amp, failed. Far from being outdone, while the roadies desperately toiled to get the show back on the road, guitarist Dave Davies entertained the crowd playing instrumentals to order.

Coronation Street? No problem. Steptoe and Son? Yeah, off we go.

Right. Show me a present-day first division rock guitarist who could improvise like that. No, don’t bother… there ain’t one. Yes, Dave Davies of the Kinks, you really got me on that night of long ago.

This multi award-winning hit musical is a rollercoaster ride through the back pages of a band that was easily the equal of fellow rock royalty such as the Rolling Stones and Beatles, and in some ways their superiors.

While the Stones looked to black America for inspiration, and the Beatles would soon forsake trivial girl-boy ditties for psychedelic silliness, the Kinks chose another route - that of very English quirkiness and eccentricity.

And my, doesn’t this supremely talented company do justice to the classic tale of four London working class lads who, like so many of their peers, precisely caught the mood of 1960s Britain as the baby boomers were coming of age.

Danny Horn seamlessly portrays Ray Davies, the Muswell Hill Shakespeare who, in addition to coming up with hit after hit, must not only keep his errant brother under control, but at one stage persuade the tour-knackered bass man Pete Quaife (Harry Curley) not to quit the band.

Sibling rivalry, along with much else would one day be pillaged wholesale by a whole generation of 1990s Johnny-come-latelys, but it’s clear that Ray Davies had real problems with the volatile Dave.

So the younger brother is played with glorious excess and outrage by the floppy-haired Oliver Hoare, who never fails to hit every classic riff, aided and abetted by an impressive armoury of high-end guitars.

Even when he breaks a string on his Gibson Les Paul gold top towards the end of the gig, he keeps slashing away as if his life depended on it. Hoare absolutely nails it, make no mistake. Fabulous.

Zakarie Stokes as drummer Mick Avory won a huge round of applause on this first night at the Festival Theatre after delivering a blistering solo that was easily the equal of anything a jazz player could provide, at one stage dispensing with his sticks to play with his hands. Yet another amazing interlude in a night of jaw-dropping musical prowess.

This being the period, we have the obligatory men in suits hovering like vultures overhead, eager to rip off the talented but hopelessly naïve young men. True to form, the Kinks first manager was Larry Page, in this instance played with more grease than a spilled Brylcreem jar by Dominic Gee-Burch.

Eventually, Page will slither off into the proverbial Waterloo Sunset, to be replaced by the cigar-chomping, deal-clinching Allen Klein (Phil Corbitt) who sounds more like Donald Trump than Donald Trump.

Based on Joe Penhall’s book with music and lyrics by Ray Davies, this is a musical that never pauses for breath, pushed hard not just by the tracks, but also by a team of dancers led by Victoria Anderson which instantly captures the spirit of legendary 1960s shows such as Top of the Pops, Shindig! and Ready, Steady, Go!

As for the numbers, every single one hits the spot. They speak for themselves, and need no further introductions from me, save to say they are recreated with unerring accuracy and tireless enthusiasm.

However, one deserves a special mention, and that was Days, beautifully transformed into an a capella tour-de-force of chocolate smoothness, reminding us yet again of Ray Davies’ lyrical and melodic genius.

Meanwhile, all today and all of last night… those songs keep going round and round in my head. And yes, this show really got me, just as the real thing did all those years ago in that provincial dance hall.

Sunny Afternoon is the best thing I’ve seen this year. And right now, from where I’m sitting, it looks like it will indeed take some beating.