Now I don’t want to speak to early and put a curse on 2022 but so far 2022 has been a damn site better already that the start of 2021 was, and that purely is because after just 4 days of the new year I’ve already seen one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long while, and that show my friends was School of Rock!
I’d seen the film with Jack Black and thought it was great, so when I saw that this musical version was an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Fellows creation I just had absolutely no idea what to expect. Would School of Rock be a Cats or Phantom mash up with a bit of Downton Abbey thrown in for good measure? Oh by jiminy NO, who would ever have thought that Lloyd Webber and Fellows had such a rock side to them! Not me that’s for sure, but it’s a side you are all going to want to see!
For those who’ve not seen the film, School of Rock tells the story of Dewy Finn (played by the brilliant Alex Tomkins), a wannabe rock star who get’s kicked out of his band for right before the legendary ‘Battle of the Bands competition’ his chance to win some much needed cash.
When he needs to pay his bills or risk being kicked out of the apartment, he shares with his henpecked nerdy childhood best friend Ned Schneebly (Matthew Rowland) and his balsy girlfriend Patty (Nadia Violet Johnson) who are fed up with Dewy not having a proper job, his general laziness and he needs to find some cash fast.
When by chance Dewy answers a phone call from the prestigious Horace Green private school, offering Ned a well-paid job as a substitute teacher, Dewy can’t resist pretending to be his friend and accepting the role.
Dewy arrives on his first day late, hungover and with absolutely no intention of teaching his new students anything. But when he sees his class playing classical music, he soon realises these kids can be educated in the ways of rock, and his dream of competing in Battle of the Bands is back on with hilarious and heart-warming consequences. He even ends up melting the heart of Horace Green Head Teacher Miss Mullins (Rebecca Lock) and falling in love along the way.
Tomkins is brilliant as Dewy, a character which is on stage for pretty much the entire show. His vocal ability, energy and comic timing is something that Jack Black would be super proud of I’m sure!
Rebecca Lock is brilliant as Miss Mullins and wow what a voice from Mozart to Stevie Nicks she really showed off her vocal range and skill.
This show is filled to the brim with great performances right across the cast, but the show’s real stars though are the kids. What an amazing bunch of youngsters they really are! The announcement from Lloyd Webber at the beginning proudly assuring the audience that all the kids are playing their instruments live makes you gasp with excitement, but when you see them play live, sing, dance, act I was flawed by their talent.
In particular the main band, lead guitarist Zak (Joseph Sheppard), base player extraordinaire Katie (Markit Akiwumi), drummer Freddy (Eva McGrath) perhaps the next Sheila E, keyboard genius Lawrence (Oliver Forde) , Tomika (Souparnika Nair) who has an absolutely angelic voice and not forgetting the manager and all round goody two shoes Summer (Florrie May Wilkinson). All of the kids really do steal the show.
In fact, the whole School of Rock team really should get a massive rock salute for getting this show even on stage. What with such intricate choreography, amazing songs, managing all the different kids, not to mention a global pandemic.
Although it’s easy to think this show is all about rock music, it really is so much more than that. I laughed so much and from start to finish I had a smile on my face, and I have to say I was truly inspired by the young talent. As I stated at the beginning it’s one of the best live shows I’ve seen in a long while.Whether you’ve seen the film or not School of Rock is not to be missed. I absolutely loved School of Rock and would definitely go see it again and again, and I encourage anyone else to do the same.
School of Rock is on at Palace Theatre Manchester Tuesday 4th January to Saturday 15th January 2022
Review by Emma Ronan-Peate
School of Rock Tickets | Palace Theatre Manchester in Manchester | ATG Tickets
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