REVIEW: BOOM BANG-A-BANG (Above The Stag) ★★★★

Get ready for a gushy review. Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the press-night of Jonathan Harvey’s play ‘Boom Bang-A-Bang‘, directed by Andrew Beckett.

It’s honestly rare that a play with an interval has me looking forward to the second act, but this production smashed the gradual build of act one. The play is set back in 1992, the night of the Eurovision contest. An interesting and disjointed group of friends gather to watch as this also is a sort of reunion for the death of our leading character, Lee, ‘boyfriend. Lee played by Adam McCoy holds the core to this story. Showing truth and colour as we see his stages of grief matched with memories and momentary comedy – a perfect performance. Give a medal to Harry Blumenau who cast this play, the ingredients were there and with the director on top; perfection. Of course with my eagle eye there were tiny details that’s caught my attention, like the wrong era of cigarette packet and the loss of the classic sound of cassette playing BUT LET IT GO BENJAMIN.

Above The Stag prides itself in being a theatre that showcases LBGT productions and this should go up there with one of its best. I would be interested in knowing how long the rehearsal process was, as at times the lines lacked believable response. Overall it’s super, and certainly a fun evening- it’s difficult to make me laugh out loud but the full audience was certainly gifted with my cackle throughout. Bravo.

Reviewed by Benjamin Martin

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