MUSICAL REVIEW: School of Rock ★★★★★

School of Rock
New London Theatre, Drury Lane
Saturday 29th October, 2016

This whole week I have watched productions based on films, from The Exorcist, Little Shop of Horrors, and now School of Rock, a production based on the 2003 film starring Jack Black & Joan Cusack. Out of all these productions, School of Rock is the most pleasing and true to the film, which due to the movies nature is a massive compliment to the stage production.

This is because this show was BIG! From the set to costumes, lighting and sound, you really felt a part of the whole world that was in front of you, and dare I say it, I felt like part of the band! This brings me onto the sound, which thanks to a voiceover from Andrew Lloyd Webber at the start of the show, every instrument played on stage is genuine and authentic, meaning all the kids are playing live, and I can confirm that they definitely rock, and make me really in awe of their talents at such a young age! The power from their performances and voices really outshone anything else put on stage, with their witty humour and electric energy really bounce across the whole auditorium, and you could really see that they were loving every moment of being on stage!

There was some really clever jokes in this show that made me chuckle, with some being relevant, like the nod to 'Cats’, another musical on the West End that was originally on this exact stage at New London Theatre for 21 years, and this made me laugh, as well as a subtle political point about Gender Equality said from one of the kids about the pay difference between Male and Females, and finally another political joke about a certain USA president candidate! These really stuck with me because they were relevant and that's what made this production feel so current and relatable!

The changes between scenes were slick thanks to the score of the show and the aluminium truss which helped move the staging electronically with ease, so much that I completely didn't realise that we had changed sets at times! It was the set piece of the finale though that really stole the show, and just like the movie, the finale is focused at ‘The Battle of The Bands’ finals, an iconic scene in the movie which was transformed on stage perfectly, really making you rock along with the cast on stage like you really were in a rock concert like the one taken from the film!

This production hasn't even been on stage for more than a week yet, but I can already guarantee that it'll be around for a very long time. From the cast chemistry to the incredible music thanks to lyricist Glenn Slater, School of Rock the Musical really is a show for anyone, just as proven in this performance where all sorts of people where in the auditorium, from families to fans of Rock… so what you waiting for?!?! Get yourself down to London and be a part of the band!