THE BIG LIFE at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★★

“The whole show is a wondrous vision”

When front of house inform you that the show is approximately three hours long, the reaction is to smile politely while inwardly groaning and hoping there’s an espresso machine behind the bar at the interval. In the case of “The Big Life” however, after what is, in all actuality, a little over three hours we are still wanting more. It has been twenty years since this absolute gem of a musical premiered at Theatre Royal Stratford East (before transferring to the West End), and its revival has come none too soon.

Set in the mid-fifties, the show opens on board the Windrush; sailing from the Caribbean carrying its voyagers heading for a new life. The characters are full of hope, with great expectations and personal aspirations. We all know the reality. But although this show touches on it, it is no ‘blaxploitation’ polemic. It is instead a true celebration of a culture to which we owe a huge debt.

Subtitled ‘the Ska Musical’, Paul Joseph’s music keeps the blood pumping and the feet tapping throughout. And during the more tender, balladic moments, our heartstrings almost snap. It is Bob Marley meets Louis Jordan. A crossbreed of ‘One Love’ and ‘Five Guys Named Moe’, with more than a splash of Leiber and Stoller thrown in. So where can you go wrong? Adding Shakespeare to the mix sounds like a risk too far, but the ingenious take on the bard’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” is a masterstroke of theatrical reimagining. Paul Sirett and Tameka Empson’s book (Sirett is also the lyricist) even manages to improve on it while staying remarkably faithful.

On board the ship are four young men who make a pact to abstain from women and drink for three years in order to work hard and make something of their lives. The women in their lives have other ideas. The admiral of the ship follows them all onto dry land, igniting fire into the cold, grey, unwelcoming landscape, and moreover igniting mischief into the lives of the star-crossed individuals.

You don’t need to be familiar with Shakespeare’s storyline to follow the action. The biggest threat of losing the plot is through the sheer multitude of laugh-out-loud moments. The cast collectively throw the term ‘triple threat’ to the wind, multiplying their talents left, right and centre. Co-writer Empson presides over the evening as Mrs Aphrodite, commenting on the piece and filling in details from her majestic place in a box in the royal circle. In the guise of a forthright, Jamaican, first-generation immigrant, she flamboyantly and hilariously dispenses gossip and shameless commentary through the scene changes. Her perfectly timed interjections gently morph into more serious subject matter, poignantly and subtlety drawing attention to the darker side – particularly the recent Windrush scandals. The disturbing irony, and the fate of these migrants is not ignored and is treated by the writers with a respect and an authority that lends untold depth to the tremendous applause that greets the curtain call.

Onstage, meanwhile, the party continues. The seven-piece band continue to belt out the numbers with high energy while the ensemble cast is spreading joy like there’s no tomorrow. So much zest is bouncing off the stage that we forget that these actors are probably among the hardest working performers in London currently. I’d love to namecheck everyone, but each one is a star. I’d love to give a step-by-step account of the story and index the song list for you, but each number is a showstopper. The whole show is a wondrous vision. The score is a dream. Twenty years ago, it transferred to the West End. The standing ovation it received this time around will surely guide it there again. In double-time, of course – it is a ‘Ska musical’ after all.