Review: 'No surprise to see Rugby Theatre favourite glide through challenge of one woman show'

Sloop John B was the college anthem inherited by us in 1978 but in the three years that followed – as the world moved from new wave to new romantics - we added two new tunes to the essential playlist that didn’t fit either of those trends.

One was No Doubt About It by Hot Chocolate and the other, you’ve possibly guessed by now, was Take That Look Off you Face by Marti Webb.

So having joined in numerous rowdy singalongs in those far-off uni days, I took little persuading to finally get to see it in its original context, with a pledge to not become an unwanted backing singer.

I took the chance on walking into the theatre knowing little of the show but accompanied by someone who had the original album, knew all the words and had seen the show on various occasions.

A few details had become obvious in the run-up, namely that it’s a short piece and a one-woman show.

Beyond that, the surprises kept on coming. It was a surprise that the song I knew was the first big number and it was a surprise how many songs featured in a piece that lasted an hour – 25 including a few reprises – but no surprise to see a Rugby Theatre favourite glide through such a challenge.

Hayley Glover was a star of last year’s Sweeney Todd – I think my review then called it a terrific performance – and this was another memorable occasion.

The brilliant set design of different levels and many elements, plus numerous costume changes, ensured we saw shifting moods in this account of her rollercoaster love life – and there were some nice, humorous touches as the framed photos of love interests frequently appeared and were then dumped.

That physical expression certainly helped to explain the show to anyone like me who was seeing it for the first time.

I remain in awe of anyone who can learn and perform so many songs in such a short running time but some of the numbers were not so easy to follow as others.

That’s all about the writing and certainly not the performance – I’m sure Hayley will have favourites out of such a wide selection of songs and having declared my prejudice at the outset, few had the character of the big hit to send me home humming a new tune.

The four letters home to England certainly punctuated the drama and the novelty of Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad certainly cut through but I doubt many would make it into the kind of compilation we saw in the second half of the evening.

The dilemma of what to do with a short show offers a number of options. At times this has been paired with a dance piece, to make it Song & Dance, it could be offered as a short performance and that’s it – but on its current Rugby run, the star of the show and her three backing singers were joined by a fifth vocal talent for a selection of Lloyd Weber hits.

The five – Hayley Glover, Claire Tyler, Emma Bright, Hayley Garner and joined by Emma Butler – worked with the set and brought 12 numbers from seven other Lloyd Webber shows, once again with the live orchestra that had worked so hard for Tell Me.

There were some fine moments here, mixing energy with the tearjerkers, with U-N-C-O-U-P-L-E-D a delight in the former category and Don’t Cry for me Argentina from the latter, a fine finale.

Whether heading into a string of such well-known tunes moved us on from the main event too soon is up for debate – it would have been interesting to see it paired with a detached thought-provoking dance piece or nothing at all.

But in terms of value, this added up to a good night out – no doubt about it - and with Hayley Glover having the energy and vocal resource to be part of both elements, it’s definitely a landmark performance by her.

Again!