Hummm, what is the most imaginative way to start this review…? Oh yes…I’ve got it….We’re All Going On A Summer Holiday, well you will be if you pop down to the Bristol Hippodrome….imaginative enough for ya?

The Hippodrome is looking lovely at the moment, it’s had some work done to it and its grander than it’s ever been. The staff also seem to be enjoying working there, always happy to chat and talk, and they all are decked out in matching gear to the show, summer shirts and hats…it just moves that atmosphere up a peg, so a big well done to all involved. Unfortunately we are spoilt in Bristol. The Hippodrome is such a large and amazing theatre, which brings many professional West End Productions, that sometimes things just don’t reach that standard, and on some levels Summer Holiday failed, yet in others it well and truly exceeded them.

Summer Holiday and it’s big red double decker has parked at the Bristol Hippodrome for the next week and brings with it such megastars as Darren Day, Suzanne Shaw and Christopher Biggins…that’s probably the first time megastar and Christopher Biggins have ever been in the same sentence. Much like the film Summer Holiday is the story of Don, Steve, Cyril, Edwin and Wilf as they take a big red bus on holiday to the south of France. However on the way they decide to take the singing group Do-Ray-Mi consisting of Angie, Mimsie and Alma to Greece…much havoc ensues. Barbara is a singing starlet who is so fed up of her mother Stella and agent Jerry that she decides to run away, she becomes a stowaway on the bus dressed as a boy, they find out, she falls in love with Don, they have a contest with some goats and have some fun, the end. Oh and its got songs in it! Oh yes things like In The Country, Ride With Us, The Young Ones, On The Beach, We Say Yeah, Bachelor Boy and Living Doll…all very simple eh?!

Taking the part of Don is Darren Day, who due to personal circumstances was unable to perform. However seeing Summer Holiday back in 1997 I can assure you Darren is perfect for Don with the right charisma, voice and sex appeal to delight those female fans. Dougal Irvine took the part for the evening. Now this is where the theatre industry has problem theses days. So many shows are so suited to stars, and sell because of stars that a problem ensues when the star is unavailable. Darren’s performance was missing, he would have brought that extra edge to the character and show taking it up a notch, however those were the only things of Darren, which were missed. A highly commendable performance by Dougal Irvine as Don meant he made the character his own and it didn’t take long to forget that he was an understudy. A powerful performance, with a soulful voice and a cheeky persona, the standing ovation at the end was well deserved by him…and the rest of the cast for that matter.

Suzanne Shaw no doubt had the most to prove as Barbara, having come from Hear’Say but she has wowed this critic over. She light up the stage with her stunning smile and had the most powerful voice. It’s hard to think that she was in Hear’Say when she was strutting her stuff with such professionalism that you would think she has been in West End Musicals for years. A real killer and big voice mixed with some superb dancing skills showed that Suzanne was the pure and simple choice for the role…sorry couldn’t resist!

Christopher Biggins created the well rounded role of Jerry and raised a few laughs, yet it seemed to me that since Biggins himself is such a character then why not let him play Jerry as he is portrayed, camp and hilarious. He just seemed out of place at times by playing the character straight, yet when more camp outrageousness’ was introduced in act two he came to life and took the audience with him. Aimi Macdonald was fantastic and really captured the spirit of fun in her performance as Stella and all four male leads were fantastic. Quick, sharp and comic their portrayals were Frank Spencer and Boycey-esq at times but full of joy. A real treat of a cast actually, and with great diction that makes a change from most musicals where you strain to hear the voices…full praise to them. The busy direction made sure there was always something to look at, along with plenty of on stage movement and happy dancing, you were put in the summery mood.

The quick and witty script kept things moving at a pace with some nice gags thrown in. Those classic Cliff Richard songs sounded as fresh today as they did in the 60s and brought the house down for the “everyone get up and dance finale”, which the audience seemed to love every second of. The music is fevering, and there are some fantastic tunes hidden away in Summer Holiday. The band play perfectly and it’s quite a nice idea to use them as part of the show and set.

Talking of which, it was extremely colourful, bright and vivid. A little cheesy at times, but the whole thing had a pungent aroma of cheese…but a nice cheese…a fancy Brie or something. It was camp, it was end-of-the-pier, it was Butlins Redcoat, it was professional, but it was just lacking in story and never really took off. However it was the perfect little summer treat. You switch your brain off as you go in, enjoy the singing, marvel at the dancing, have a laugh and come out with a big smile of your face…what more could you want? The perfect summer holiday treat.

The Tick List:

Script:

4 out of 5

Music: 

4 out of 5

Lighting: 

2 out of 5

Set: 

3 out of 5

Cast: 

4 1/2 out of 5

Overall:

3 out of 5

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