The West End Men, Vaudeville Theatre - theatre review

Former Busted band member Matt Willis teams up with Any Dream Will Do winner Lee Mead for this musical compilation evening. It’s silly but mildly enjoyable stuff
p23 edition 04/06 The after party following the press night performance of 'The West End Men' at Adam Street private members club on June 3, 2013 in London, England. Pic Shows: Denise van Outen; Lee Mead Pic Credit: Dave Benett
4 June 2013

I've always found it strangely heartening that some shows are indomitably critic-proof. Whatever quibbles I might have about this musical compilation evening, fans of stars Lee Mead and Matt Willis, formerly of pop group Busted, will go and whoop anyway. I just hope there are enough of them to pay nearly £50 for a top-price seat.

What they — and I struggle to see who else is likely to be interested — will find is Lee and Matt, along with Glenn Carter and David Thaxton, treating with varying degrees of kindness an assortment of offerings from the musicals. Backed by a stylish five-piece band it’s silly but mildly enjoyable stuff, with a pleasing lack of the insincere between-songs banter that this sort of show tends to generate. There is, however, a less pleasing lack of securely-hit top notes.

Although Mead is the nominal star turn, he’s upstaged by Willis’s cheeky-chappy persona and Thaxton’s more impressive voice.

The first half of director/choreographer Mitch Sebastian’s production is all Stygian gloom and moody solo turns. In the more rock gig-esque second half, the four tend to bounce around in a line front-stage like a game, if ageing, boy band. There are also some surprises in store here — a woman! A choir! The Men in shirtsleeves! The Men in tuxes! — although an “unplugged” take on I  Could Have Danced All Night is the version that precisely no one has been waiting for.

Time passes, no one gets hurt, but it’s hard to see what the overall point is. “It’s like they all want new agents,” said the critic next to me wryly.

Until June 22 (0844 412 4663, nimaxtheatres.com)

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