In celebration of 40 years of NOW That's What I Call Music! compilations (which I'm sure we all grew up with), a new jukebox musical is touring the UK and Ireland until Spring 2025. Titled 'NOW That's What I Call A Musical', comedian Pippa Evans has penned the book and Strictly Come Dancing's Craig Revel Horwood has directed and choreographed the musical journey back to the eighties; a time of video stores, big hairstyles, hours of fun at the local pub and longing dreams of the future.

The story follows two best friends from school as they're waiting to meet at their school reunion. The audience are then taken back to the past and led through their earlier lives as they venture down very different paths; one dreaming of being a movie star and the other a nurse. While they don't always stay in contact throughout the years, they're always drawn back to each other, which I think in friendship is something we can all relate to. 

While the story from Pippa Evans is a lot of fun, it feels quite slow moving at times and there was just something about the storyline itself that was lacking, which prevented this from being a five star show for me. However, the production is a lot of fun and mostly makes up for what the storyline lacks.

The show has some incredibly funny moments that will make you laugh out loud and the vibrant vibes of the production takes the enjoyment factor to another level of entertainment. The song selection was second to none, and I was definitely living my best life with some of the choices!

The cast were absolutely fantastic and delivered their performances exceptionally well; both through acting and vocally. And while there was no standout member of the ensemble, a mention must go to Carol Decker (lead vocalist of T'Pau), who served as an idol to the main characters when they were growing up. She was absolutely brilliant and really enabled the audience to immerse themselves into the 80's.

The set design, by Tom Rogers and Toots Butcher, was great and simultaneously alternated between Birmingham in 1989 and 2009. However, as previously mentioned, the plot is very loose and does rely heavily on the musical numbers integrated into it.

If you're looking for an entertaining evening out with friends that's light-hearted, feel-good fun, this is the musical for you.