There are a number of similar touring productions around currently of companies performing best-loved songs from a variety of musicals so I suppose it is rather difficult for any show to be radically different from the myriad of others.

This classy production however featured a Nolan Sister, Maureen, a former member of early boyband Flintlock and Tomorrow People star Mike Holoway and his daughter Rachel, herself no mean singer and a former Hollyoaks babe, so it did have something different.  

Mr Holoway has been a stalwart of musical theatre for many years and has been heavily involved with such productions as Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell and the much lamented, by Sheila and I anyway, Robin Prince of Sherwood, so it was no surprise that these were a substantial part of the evenings entertainment, however there was much more, Les Mis, Mama Mia, We Will Rock You, Grease, Fame, Cabaret, Phantom and Blood Brothers amongst others all got the Stardust treatment.

The vocals were divided amongst all three afore mentioned performers and occasionally augmented by the comic talents of Mike Newman Jr, who linked sections with his own comedy talents and even joined in on a couple of musical members, who could forget his spin on My Way? Certainly not me. Mike Holoway also treated us to an exhibition of his drumming talents, obviously honed from his former boyband days.

The production was augmented with the inclusion of a local school of dance for the inevitable Any Dream Will Do song, and these kids also performed their own dance routine, but I’m afraid to say this detracted rather than enhanced the experience due to the drastically under rehearsed nature of their performance.

It was good to see Mike again, the last time we saw him was in Robin some 13 years ago and he has lost none of his talent, or charisma, Rachael has a magnificent voice and stage presence, and although we did she her in the same production as her dad previously it was when she was only 9 so we could be forgiven for not immediately recognising her, and Maureen, freshly out of Blood Brothers made it the fourth Nolan we have seen performing ‘Tell me it’s not True’.

The two backing musicians unfortunately were unnamed, but did a cracking job of holding the production together.

This show is on tour for a few of weeks yet; so to see if it is playing in your area, check out www.mikefa.co.uk for details.