REVIEW: Mamma Mia!
By Gary Murray, volunteer theatre reviewer
It once wasn’t cool to say you liked Abba. They had millions of fans worldwide and were one of the best-selling music acts of all time. But it wasn’t until a 90s revival that many began to recognise the songs as finely-crafted, full of drama, pathos and heartbreak.
Part of that 90s revival was the musical Mamma Mia! It’s a jukebox musical with a story of sorts, but it’s all about hearing the songs. Written at a time (1999) when jukebox musicals were a fresh idea, the songs of Abba now surely deserve something better than this creaky old vehicle.
Now, when you can actually see an Abba concert performed by avatars of the group in a purpose-built venue in London, Mamma Mia! is a bit like your uncle’s clown car turning up at your sophisticated cocktail party.
On the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi, Sophie (Lydia Hunt) is getting married. She’d like her father to walk her down the aisle. Only there’s a problem. Having secretly read her mum’s diary, Sophie has gleaned that her father could be one of three different men who mum Donna (Jenn Griffin) previously dated.
Sophie invites all three to the island and, implausibly, all are free and accept. Which comes as a bit of a surprise to Donna. Anyway, it’s all good by the final singalong.
Trouble is, that the first half is relentlessly played as a broad comedy. The arrival of Donna’s old friends Tanya (Sarah Earnshaw) and Rosie (Rosie Glossop) has a bludgeoning quality. They might just as well be wearing T-shirts with “THIS IS FUNNY THIS IS” on them.
Nice to have live musicians (not a given these days) but the band was far too loud.
The dads, Bill (Mark Goldthorpe), Harry (Richard Meek) and Sam (Luke Jasztal) were great, but I did think that at least two of them might not have been old enough to have left big school at the time they were possibly fathering children in the Mediterranean.
The second half pitches for a bit more emotional truth but the BBC light entertainment summer special vibe of the first makes this feel like an abrupt change of mood.
Still, there are some lovely poignantly reflective scenes with just the right songs (Our Last Summer and Slipping Through My Fingers). Donna’s Winner Takes It All is a real set-piece.
Mamma Mia! feels like the songs don’t particularly progress from the action and are not so much shoehorned as levered in with a tyre iron.
Characters are also apt to change their mind on a whim. “DNA testing? Nah, let’s not bother. I can hear the opening bars of another Abba song starting up. That’ll cover my abrupt change of heart.”
Abba fans can still have a great time at Mamma Mia! But if you want a more authentic Abba experience, buy a ticket to Abba Voyage in London.
:: Mamma Mia! is at the Congress Theatre until Sunday 19 July. Tickets here
:: Gary Murray was a professional actor for 14 years in theatre, radio, TV and even a couple of operas. After many years on the tech side of the ticketing industry, he now works at Tech Resort and is a volunteer reviewer for Eastbourne Reporter
