THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF MUSICAL at The NOEL COWARD THEATRE, LONDON
Tickets: Paid for
Date: 23rd April 2023
Seat: U22 (Stalls)
Star Rating: 5
The Great British Bake Off Musical gives us an entire series of Bake Off distilled down into a couple of hours. And there are moments that you’ll recognise, like the infamous 'bingate', someone badly cutting their thumb, and a contestant constantly referring to Paul Hollywood (in this case, Phil Hollinghurst) as the male judge.
It runs through everything from meeting the contestants to signature bakes and technical challenges, and showstoppers. It’s got eliminations. It’s got judging and blind judging. It’s got the comedy moments from the presenters, and it’s even got the judges chatting about who’s going home, just like on the show.
That’s the premise. We get a lot more than that – there’s a love story running throughout, there’s a baddie, there’s the competition itself and who’s going to win, there’s tension and drama and comedy, and all those ingredients come together, mixed with some amazingly catchy songs that I cannot stop humming to create this showstopper of a musical.
As someone who's a big fan of musical theatre, I have to say that the songs in The Great British Bake Off Musical were some of the catchiest I've heard in a long time. They were upbeat, clever, and perfectly suited to the show's setting. But they’re used very cleverly as well. One of the first big songs is 'Obviously', which is a character called Izzy’s song (played by Grace Mouat, who is just incredible as the baddie – or as bad as a character can be in Bake Off). It’s fun and lively, there’s a bit of Beyonce in there, and it seems to set the tone. But then comes 'Somewhere In The Dough', which caught me a bit by surprise because it’s really heartfelt and, I hesitate to say serious, but yes, I suppose it is. It’s telling us more about the real people, and it’s just lovely. It reminded me of 'She Used To Be Mine' from Waitress. Not the melody, and it didn’t have quite the same punch, but the overall feeling of the song gave that kind of vibe about losing yourself and trying to work out who you are.
Speaking of the music, the London cast recording has just arrived, so download it and enjoy it because this is good stuff. The music is by Pippa Cleary, and the lyrics are by Pippa Cleary and Jake Brunger, and they are such an exciting team (Pippa Cleary also worked with Rob Madge on My Son’s A Queer). It’s fresh and new but comforting, and the words are beautiful – they’ve made songs about baking become a lot more than songs about baking. They’re about love and loss and confidence and life and everything in between. In particular, there is a song called 'My Dad' – if you’re not a little bit moved by the end of that one you must be made of stone.
But if you’re looking for an emotional song, then 'Grow', sung by Francesca (played by Cat Sandison) is the one I would pick. It's possibly my favourite song, it’s gorgeous and so sad but optimistic at the same time, and it did take me by surprise because going into the tent (as they call the Noel Coward Theatre), I hadn’t heard any of the music, I didn’t know the story, and I just wanted to see what was what, and then this song happened and that was it, I was completely entranced and I now can’t get enough of The Great British Bake Off Musical.
One stand-out number is 'Slap It Like That', which is, on the surface, all about Phil teaching the contestants how to slap their dough rather than knead it, but this is Bake Off, so it’s a little bit naughty, a little bit rude, and very funny.
A Bake Off musical is weird. It’s so silly really when you think about it, but I think that’s why it’s such a hit. It’s so lovely and charming, and when there is so much nastiness and horrible things around, just being able to sit for a couple of hours in a theatre watching and listening to something nice for a change is beautiful. So although I didn’t think we really needed a Bake Off musical, I’ve changed my mind. We really, really need it. And more like it.
The cast… I feel really lucky to have been able to see all these amazing talents in one place. Scott Paige and Zoe Birkett are the presenters, Jim and Kim. Their performances were particularly outstanding and added an extra layer of depth to the show. Scott's comedic timing was impeccable, and Zoe's powerhouse vocals gave me goosebumps.
The chemistry between Scott and Zoe was undeniable, and their duets were some of the highlights of the show for me. I would love to see them team up in another musical in the future - they were that good!
I have to talk about the judges, Pam Lee and Phil Hollinghurst, played by Haydn Gwynne and John Owen-Jones, respectively. They were hilarious and brought a lot of levity to the show. Of course, they were based on Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood from the actual Great British Bake Off, but the musical took their characters to a whole new level.
There was a song where Pam does a cartwheel, and there’s a bit of a parody of the song 'Roxie' from Chicago, which had me laughing out loud, and an entire song dedicated to Phil's handshake. It was clear that the writers had a lot of fun poking gentle fun at the baking competition world and the personalities that come with it.
But the judges weren't just there for comedic relief. They had some great moments throughout the show, particularly in the second act when they do a lovely duet that reminded me of 'Anything You Can Do' from Annie Get Your Gun.
One thing that I particularly appreciated about the show was how it tackled important themes about the pressure of competition and the importance of staying true to yourself. While it was undoubtedly a fun, lighthearted show, it still had moments that resonated with me long after the final curtain call. Bake Off is more about the people than the pies and cakes, and this show provides that perfectly.
Get tickets here: https://bakeoffthemusical.com/
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