Review: AN EVENING WITH LEE MEAD, The Pheasantry

After a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, Lee Mead returns to esteemed live music and jazz venue The Pheasantry, nestled in the heart of Chelsea. With nine new songs added to his repertoire, Mead and his three-piece band present an intimate evening of show tunes and pop classics to be cosily enjoyed over a pollo ad astra and a cocktail – what could be better?

In the fifteen years since his Any Dream Will Do victory, which catapulted him into an illustrious West End career, Mead seems not to have aged a day. A seasoned leading man who has ticked off most major musical theatre roles and venues, Mead retains a sweet humility and gentle stage presence which is impossibly endearing.

Mead’s programme is chocolate box selection of songs from Ed Sheeran to Blood Brothers, punctuated by behind-the-scenes stories of auditions (some successful, some less so) and shows cancelled in the last year. It felt special to be part of the tester audience for Mead’s new material, like we were all holding hands and giving back into the pool of live performance together.

Mead’s backing band was phenomenal – a pianist (and arranger of most of the tunes), violinist and double bassist who boasts performance credits with Sting. The original arrangements showed off the talents of all the performers and particularly Mead’s stunning vocals.

Part and parcel of the cabaret-style experience at a Pizza Express Live venue is the underscoring of clinking cutlery, which is understandable up to a point, but it seems that out of respect for the performers mere six feet away, you might pause the scraping, chomping and crunching until the end of the song.

But the highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the requisite rendition of ‘Any Dream Will Do’, complete with backing vocals spontaneously provided by the giddy audience.

A lightly nostalgic evening of musical delights that will titillate musical theatre buffs and pop afficionados alike.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett