By: Suzanne Cleave
Here & Now, the musical featuring the music of Steps, is a colourful, feel-good production that delivers exactly what fans of the group would want – energy, nostalgia and lots of fabulous pop anthems!
The story follows a group of assistants at the seaside supermarket Better Best Bargains, who make a pledge that they will all follow their dreams and fulfil their life’s ambitions before the summer is out.
They all encounter twists and turns on their journey to happiness, but they all find joy in the end and realise how important their friendships are.
The songs from the Steps’ back catalogue are cleverly interwoven into the story, and the show is packed with crowd pleasers such as Tragedy, One for Sorrow, Deeper Shade of Blue, and 5, 6, 7, 8. It makes you realise just how many hits Steps had!
The dance numbers are a highlight, and although the audience is kindly asked not to sing along, it’s hard not to have a little jiggle as the hits come one after the other.
Caz (played by the amazing Lara Denning) finds herself over the moon when she and her husband are approved to adopt a child. She challenges her friends Vel (Jacqui Dubois), Neeta (Rosie Singha), and Robbie (Blake Patrick Anderson) to take a chance and find their own happy ending before she turns 50.
Vel must end her loveless relationship; Robbie must stop being afraid of emotion, and Neeta needs to pluck up the courage to confess her feelings for her colleague, Ben.
It all sounds easy, but when Caz’s husband, Gareth, tells her he wants to leave her, her perfect-looking life begins to fall apart, and she realises she must take some of her own advice – go after your heart’s desire.
Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and based on a book by Shaun Kitchener, Here & Now will make you laugh one minute and tug at your heart strings the next. It’s the perfect feel-good show, which will have you leaving the theatre with a smile on your face.
If you grew up listening to Steps, this musical is unmissable. But even if you’re new to the music of the iconic 90s group, Here & Now is a colourful, camp and feel-good musical that proves Steps’ music still has the power to bring the audience to their feet.