Mamma Mia! - Novello Theatre - Review

Spandex, knee high boots, nineties fashion, fourth wall breaks, chorus members appearing from nowhere, and oodles upon oodles of ABBA. I could only be talking about one thing and that, of course, is Mamma Mia, the all singing all dancing spectacular that has been delighting audiences with its bouncy carefree lightheartedness for nearly 27 years.

Sophie (Ellie kingdon) is getting married and upon finding her mother Donna's (played at this performance by Emma Odell) diary, she discovers that she has three possible fathers, Sam (Richard Standing), Bill (played here by Andrew Gallo) and Harry (Daniel Crowder). So behind Donna's back, and without telling fiancee Sky (George Maddison), Sophie invites them all to her wedding on the idyllic little Greek island she calls home. And all she has to do is work out which one is her dad so that she can have the picture perfect wedding, but things aren't quite that easy.

It would be easy to think that inviting three men your mother never wanted to see again to your wedding without telling her, just to find out and have the perfect wedding, would make you an instantly unlikeable selfish character, but that isn't the case with Sophie. Kingdon makes her sweet and kindhearted, guided in her decisions by the pursuit of happiness and an innocent belief that everything will work out alright in the end. With beautiful vocals and a smile that lights up the room, you are willing Kingdon's Sophie on to succeed, won over by her hopes and charmed by her relationship with Maddison's Sky and her best friends Ali and Lisa, played at this performance by Ella Beaumont and Deena Kapadia.

George Maddison's Sky, charming and completely enamoured with Sophie, wants nothing more than to marry and to see what the world has to offer. Both the love of her life and the answer to Donna's handy man job list with the promise that he can help her hotel business grow, we see him living every moment to the fullest with friends and fellow hotel workers Pepper (played here by Jack Bromage) and Eddie (Joshua De La-Garde).

Tackling the mammoth tune 'The Winner Takes It All' and making it look easy, Emma Odell is a powerhouse as Donna, a true illustration of independent women strength, running a busines and raising a daughter all without, as she proudly states, the help of a man. Odell has both the incredible vocals and the spot on comedic timing that makes Donna such an iconic character. Alongside Helen Anker as Tanya and Nicky Swift as Rosie, the trio earn some huge laughs throughout with the banter of life long friendship.

Anker gives a commanding performance as Tanya, with her performance Jack Bromage in 'Does Your Mother Know' being a particular highlight. Standing, Crowder and Gallo shine as Sam, Harry and Bill, each getting their moment to shine and Gallo proving himself to be a comedic delight who raised many a laugh as Bill.

When watching this show, there is one thing that is simply impossible to deny, and that is the fact that ABBA had some absolute bangers. Song after song is one hit after another and these are songs that have more than stood the test of time. Smile inducing ear worms that stay with you long after the curtain has come down. Throughout the show, there is a wonderful sense of old school fun, with costumes having changed very little since the original late nineties production and the idea of a greek chorus popping up to support many a musical number, its simply delightful.

After nearly 27 years on the West End, there is no sign of Mamma Mia slowing down anytime soon. The audience were enjoying every second of it and the entire production feels like a warm hug, a summer's day and a good old fashioned party all wrapped up in one. Long may it continue to bring sunshine to London on even the most grey of days.