“Bring Tomorrow On”: Choir of Man makes its grand return to the West End

Welcome back to the Jungle, your new local for the foreseeable future; filled with laughter, cheer and beer! Choir of Man officially re-opened on the West End on the 13th October with a bang. The cast were met with multiple standing ovations, rapturous applauses and gave the theatre life!

Choir of Man, created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay with musical arrangements and orchestrations by Jack Blume, features an array of songs from different artists, with something for everyone. The music ranges from Queen to Sia to Adele to Guns & Roses. This music is taken to new heights by insane harmonies and live instruments of all varieties being performed by the members on the stage.

The cast is full of 9 very talented men, with an extra 4 amazing swings and a gorgeous band, who each give standout performances in their role, each having their moment to shine. Jordan Oliver taps his way into everyone's hearts during ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”, telling a story with his dancing. His energy in that number was powerful and engaging, you couldn’t look anywhere else. This was also complimented by the stunning vocals of the cast. Another standout performance has to be Lemuel Knights as the Barman during his performance of “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)”. The number is filled with absolute fun, with people dancing their hearts out left right and centre, beautiful trumpet and flute playing, and one lucky audience member even gets an extra special experience.

Michael Baxter is our hilarious and extremely gifted Maestro, Matt Beveridge returns to the show with his heavenly vocals as The Romantic, Owen Bolton makes everyone swoon with his guitar playing skills as The Beast, Matt Thorpe has everyone laughing as The Joker, Levi-Tyrell Johnson captures the audience and raises the roof as The Hardman, Matt Nalton entertains us as The Pub Bore and Ben Norris also returns to the show with rhyming charm as The Poet.

Ben

Ben Norris as The Poet, photo taken by Helen Maybanks

The whole cast hold such a presence vocally, you can tell they love what they are doing and hold such a comfort with each other, similar to how people find comfort with their pub’s locals. The harmonies of the show are phenomenal, making every song, every note even, a shining moment that hypnotises the audience. Some songs, like “Chandelier” are sung in 9-part harmonies, which is truly unbelievable, this song alone gets an applause worthy of a finale and its only halfway through the show.

Choir of Man is a show about people, for people. Its heart is celebrating the life of a pub and the friendships held in those beer-filled areas. The cast are some of the most welcoming men and you will leave the show feeling like you have made a cast of new friends. It gets people talking, unites everyone for a 90-minute experience with no distractions, just that moment.

It is a show that everyone must experience at some point in their life. Go by yourself, take a friend, take someone you’re indifferent to, take an enemy even; it might spark a surprising bond between the two of you.

Choir of Man is currently running at the Arts Theatre and shall hopefully reside there for a long time to come.

 

You can buy tickets and find out more here: The Choir of Man - Home

A Conversation with the Cast:

 The Choir of Man was inspired by a real group of farmers, labourers and fisherman from Australia who used to get together for a beer and a drink. However, they were not the best singers, so the idea was created to collect a group of performers and build a show based on the group.  

“We bring so much of ourselves to the show,” said Ben Norris, who plays ‘The Poet’ and wrote all of the monologues for the show, “we are living out genuine friendships on stage, and I think the audience feed off that energy so by the end of the show they feel like they’ve been welcomed into the group too.” 

The show’s interactivity is one of its major attributes, as said by original cast member Tom Brandon, who plays ‘The Hardman’ when he was asked about his favourite thing about being in the show. He said: “I’ve been involved in the show for over 4 years, and I have never felt bored. It’s a different show every night and that’s what makes it so much fun for all involved.” 

However, with the show being new, audiences are unsure of what to anticipate, a pub night out or a musical. Norris said that people should: “expect the unexpected”, with Brandon adding that you are bound to leave “with a smile on your face” and “feeling like you’ve made 9 new mates”.  

After seeing the show, myself, I know that these statements are true, so I highly recommend this show to anyone, from pub-lovers to theatre fanatics and everyone in-between. The first drink is on them, literally! 

Full Cast, photo taken by The Other Richard