I went to see Here & Now: The Steps Musical at the Theatre Royal on Tuesday. I was expecting some kind of frothy nostalgia-fest but was impressed by how current this show feels. Far from mindless entertainment, Here & Now: The Steps Musical masterfully reworks the songs of the dance-pop group in service of a genuinely relatable feel-good comedy with real emotional heft.
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The stroke of genius from book writer Shaun Kitchener (a pop culture columnist and writer on Hollyoaks) has been to take songs which at first glance could be associated with youth and escapism, and give them to mainly middle-aged characters living distinctly unglamorous and ordinary lives.
The story follows the employees of Better Best Bargains, a budget supermarket in an unnamed seaside town. In honour of protagonist Caz’s approaching 50th birthday, her friends make a pact to sort out their love lives in a ‘Summer of Love’. Caz (played gloriously by Laura Denning) herself wants to adopt a child, but when her husband leaves her, a deal she makes with an untrustworthy posh man results in the Tragedy (heh heh) of Better Best Bargains facing closure and being turned into luxury condos. Some of the plot twists are incredibly silly – posh man Max has been pretending to be French to have an affair with the proprietor – but fantastic performances by the main characters keep the whole thing grounded and relatable. Jacqui Dubois as Caz’s friend Vel, in particular, felt utterly real.
The songs of Steps meld in perfectly, rarely feel jarring or crowbarred in. Some take on new depth as characters use them to reflect on marriage breakdown, stillborn babies and absent fathers. 5, 6, 7, 8 turns up in a particularly brilliant incarnation as the ‘Half Price Hoedown’, with supermarket employees dancing in sandwich boards to sell washing machines and toilet roll, interrupted by a voiceover listlessly advertising bargains. It was ingenious. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Here & Now is very clearly set in the present day, firmly rooted in modern working class Britain. Aspiring artist Neeta is “using till receipts to make a collage of Alison Hammond”, one of the characters is “as the kids say, serving” and delivery driver Tracey maintains “if you wanna know someone in their very soul, ask their meal deal”, agreeing with friend Vel that people who choose grapes over crisps are not to be trusted. The gag-filled dialogue references Eastenders, daytime telly and pimple popping videos.
“You’ll get your happy ending, but it might not be the one you expect”, Caz’s friends tell her, and in the end the happy ending is an affirmation of creating love and family on your own terms. Ultimately, Here & Now is a celebration of friendship, working class culture and middle-aged happiness, with a generous helping of queerness. Fans of Steps will get exactly what they hope for (as multiple reviewers, and an audience member at the end of our show said, it is ‘Steptacular’…) but even those who don’t know Steps very well are in for a great time. It’s life-affirming, heartwarming and joyous.
Here & Now – The Steps Musical runs at the Theatre Royal Brighton until Saturday, December 13.
Address: New Rd, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 1SD
Tickets: ATG Tickets
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