Review: Never Give Up On A Dream, Thespie
Welcoming in the New Year, Thespie bring us the latest in their ‘Reunited’ series, Never Give Up On A Dream; a collection of songs performed by members of the Original London Cast of Pretty Woman - The Musical.
Presented by Aimie Atkinson and Rachael Wooding, who play Vivian and Kit respectively, they are joined by other company members Joanna Woodward, Charlotte Yorke, Hannah Ducharme, Serina Mathew, Jemma Alexander and special guest Bob Harms, as they sing their way through songs from Pretty Woman on stage and screen, along with other theatre and chart classics.
What’s great about this particular concert is the conversation and relationship between the singers, as well as the stories they tell. They regale viewers with tales of on stage incidents and what they miss most about performing. This added extra makes it so much more than solely listening to their, albeit beautiful, voices for 55 minutes.
Atkinson and Wooding (like their characters in the show) naturally take centre stage but the whole cast showcase incredible vocals and are all leading ladies in their own right.
Accompanied by Musical Director Gareth Weedon on piano, Atkinson wows with ‘I Can’t Go Back’ from the West End musical but my personal highlight is ‘Somebody to Love’ from We Will Rock You, as it features a perfect blend of all of the women, plus gives them the chance to shine individually.
Never Give Up On A Dream offers us a glimmer of hope and it is wonderful to see the cast back together again, enjoying themselves. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer until they are back on stage in front of a live audience.
The concert is available to purchase at the Thespie website here for £15. Alternatively, you can buy 6 concerts (all of which have been reviewed by us at West End Best Friend) for a bundle price.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Emma Littler
