It’s great to see the newspaper critics have enjoyed BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM.
The show’s press rep, Janine Shalom of Premiere PR, couldn't spare me a ticket to review the final product and when I saw it, in previews a few weeks ago, there were a lot of problems with the show. Reading my colleagues reviews I assume that happily all this must be fixed. It was far too rambling and boring to get more than a three star critique back then, the big numbers never really kicked in and there was a surfeit of boring ballades from characters we didn't care about. Now many critics have loved it so much that it’s had a string of four and even five stars reviews.
Many critics have loved it so much that it’s had a string of four and even five stars reviews.
It’s the latest in a long line of popular films that have been turned into successful stage shows and is based on the movie of the same name about an Asian teenager, Jess (Nathalie Dew) in 1990’s Southall, London who overcomes her family’s objections to her playing football and goes on to compete with her team internationally.
Intrinsic to the musical is an exploration of parents and daughters, across the cultural divide. This tale of two families explores Jess’s relationship with hers (still struggling to match Asian tradition with the ambition of their sporty daughter) and her white team mates Jules’ relationship with her feisty single mum, played by Sophie-Louise Dann. There’s also significant sub plots about Jess’s sister’s arranged marriage, a love triangle between the two players and their male coach and even a gay coming out scene.
Composer Howard Goodall and lyricist Charles Hart have assembled an easy listening mesh of traditional Indian music and Western pop that provides ample opportunity for Aletta Collins’ exuberant choreography. Kicking off with a terrific opening number introducing us to Jess’s world the score builds to a long, very long, composite closing sequence to Act 1 that recaps where each character’s at in the style of One Day More from LES MIS.
Having taken Act 1 to establish all those characters and sub plot Act 2 is a much swifter and more fulfilling experience. It’s here that the love triangle really kicks in, giving us a bit of dramatic tension because of course we know Jess is always going to succeed in her sporting ambitions; but can she do this and win her best mate’s boyfriend? After the interval it’s also enjoyable to watch as the staunch positions everyone has adopted evolve when each learns to “Bend”, the title of another excellent number that I’d have liked to have heard more of.
The set, on two levels with shifting panels and additional structural pieces flown in, manages to be stylish even when representing a sporting environment and a low income, culturally diverse community. The female dancers are terrific with a number of high energy routines representing training and the game itself. The director Gurinder Chadha, who also directed the original film, even manages a few tricks to persuade us footballs are actually being kicked around within the enclosed space of the Phoenix Theatre.
There’s a maxim in show business that says people who like sport don’t go to theatre and theatre goers aren’t interested in sport. Perhaps this show with women at its heart and now with its excellent string of reviews can buck the trend.
Long before it was the title of a voyeuristic TV game show the term “Big Brother” was coined by the novelist George Orwell. It comes from his influential book 1984 where it’s the name of the oppressive regime controlling, punishing and rewarding a mass population through dictating and monitoring its every move.