HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

Troubadour Wembley Park

★★★

“the production’s infectious energy and sense of fun carry it through”

Twenty years after becoming a global phenomenon, ‘High School Musical’ returns to the stage with a refreshed experience ready to win over a new generation. While some tweaks may divide fans, expanded character beats and renewed sparkle delivers plenty of feel good charm.

Basketball star Troy Bolton and gifted newbie Gabriella Montez dare to break free of East High’s social cliques through their shared love of singing. Will they stick to the status quo or soar beyond expectations?

David Simpatico’s book keeps the plot lean, focusing on the few days between announcing and casting the school’s musical. Some of the new school-broadcast and drama-class sequences could be tighter, but this version smartly expands the character motivations, creating a slightly more multifaceted feel than the film. Sharpay and Ryan benefit most from this, while Troy and Gabriella remain more archetypes than fully realised characters. Still, that’s true to the film and the added heart is a notable improvement.

With music adapted and arranged by Bryan Louiselle, the score delivers all the beloved hits plus new numbers ‘Cellular Fusion’ and ‘Counting On You’. While these additions may lack the catchy appeal of the originals, they help the expanded story flow. The bigger issue is repetition: nearly every major song has a reprise. While there’s no denying the audience’s appetite for the hits, the pared-back first outing of ‘We’re All In This Together’ leaves the climactic reprise with less punch than it deserves.

Co-directed by Joseph Houston and William Whelton, this production is packed with inventive touches that turn a show into an experience, from onstage seating to action spilling into the auditorium – even if they miss a trick by not including the onstage audience more. Troy and Gabriella’s literally soaring ‘Breaking Free’ is pretty special, despite the audible seatbelt clicks. While some character moments could dig deeper and a handful of scenes are lost to tiny screens, the production’s infectious energy and sense of fun carry it through.

Aaron Renfree’s choreography strikes a smart balance between nostalgia and fresh ideas, keeping numbers like the up-tempo ‘What I’ve Been Looking For’ close to the film while injecting new energy with a sharp basketball sequence. That said, ‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You’ lacks the intimacy it aims for, and superfans may miss the familiar ‘We’re All In This Together’ moves, but the overall effect remains upbeat, fun and unmistakably Disney.

Andrew Exeter’s set creates real game-day atmosphere, complete with pre-show crowd noise, popcorn sellers and onstage seating. Matt Peploe’s sound design adds to the immersive feel, drawing audiences into the world, however the balance can be inconsistent during ensemble numbers. George Reeve’s video design is less successful as the screens are simply too small to fully appreciate the work. Rory Beaton’s lighting embraces the show’s playful spirit, shifting from flashy sports-arena spectacle to gloriously over-the-top romance. Sophia Pardon’s costumes perfectly capture the early-2000s aesthetic, though Sharpay and Ryan’s newsboy caps cast distracting shadows. Angie Carradus and Jackie Sweeney’s wigs and hair design are equally effective, giving Sharpay a cascade of immaculate curls while keeping the rest of the cast refreshingly natural.

McFly’s Harry Judd brings warmth to Coach Bolton and proves he’s still got the vocal chops, while KayCee Stroh is delightfully flamboyant and just as dynamic on the dancefloor as Ms Darbus. Tobias Turley’s Troy pairs a soaring voice with impressive basketball skills, and Leonor Correia’s crystal clear vocals captures Gabriella’s sweetness, though both could dig a little deeper emotionally. Caitlin Tipping’s entertainingly scheming Sharpay and Luke Bayer’s confident Ryan stand out, while the supporting cast deliver strong vocals, sharp choreography and infectious enthusiasm, even if the tempo drags a smidge in places.

‘High School Musical’ is a winning, feel-good night out even if some elements could get their head in the game. The infectious energy, beloved songs and enthusiastic performances ensure audiences will have a great time.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

Troubadour Wembley Park

Reviewed on 20th October 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Matt Crockett

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

★★★★

“Tommy is a flawed character, but the play he finds himself in is a pretty faultless portrayal of him”

If you’re a playwright and your closest friend is an actor, what is the best birthday present you can think of? A few years ago, Nick Dawkins hit upon the idea of writing a play for his bestie – Tom Claxton – who at the time was studying at LAMDA. He filled the script with “the things we loved, the music, dancing, jokes and in jokes” and presented it to him on his birthday. A wonderful gesture. But little did he know that just a few years later it would be an even greater gift for the theatre going public. Dawkins’ sixty-minute one hander is a compellingly written monologue, spectacularly well-crafted and wrapped up in Claxton’s engrossing performance.

“A Manchester Anthem” is a mix of autobiography and biography with oodles of artistic licence thrown in, which makes it instantly relatable, even if you don’t share the background of its protagonist. Claxton plays Tommy (and a dozen other characters, but we’ll come to that), a working-class Mancunian who has been accepted into Oxford. He is the first in his family to go to university. The first in his street in fact. The play charts his final day and night before he heads down south to begin his new life.

It is Tommy’s final shift as a waiter and, just as he is about to clock off for the last time, a couple of posh and privileged school mates wander in for their skinny, soya, lattes. They are a world apart from Tommy and, in his eyes, represent the world he is about to enter. It fills him with feelings of trepidation and imposter syndrome but nevertheless he accepts an invitation to a house party that night (spurred on by encouraging words from his real mates). What follows is a high energy tsunami ride from the coffee shop to the clubs, and through the streets, houses and people at each end of the class spectrum. From the moment we first see Claxton, elastically writhing to N-Joi’s ‘Anthen’ wearing bright orange underpants, we suspect we are in for something different. On the surface, this rite of passage story has more than a shade of familiarity. There are moments when it treads that path, but the observant writing is fresh enough to veer away from its own genre.

Claxton immediately has us in the palm of his hand – and he keeps us there. A finely nuanced performance, he slips easily into the other characters with subtle precision and expert timing. His supercilious boss at the café, the posh boys, the pseudo-socialist girls, his down-to-earth-bordering-on-psychotic mates, his estranged father… and so on. The various locations are seamlessly evoked, too, courtesy of Anna Niamh Gorman’s ingeniously simple cardboard box set that symbolises the packing away of an old life, but later transforms and lights up to evoke Manchester’s clubland. Sam Baxter’s soundtrack and Caelan Oram’s lighting set each time and place in stone, while Izzy Edwards’ masterful and lively direction leaves no time for anything to be set anywhere. It is a fast-paced production, but every moment counts – and some of the best lines hang in the air, frozen for a moment for us to relish, before being swept back into the thrilling momentum of the play.

Without being a social commentary, the show mirrors aspects of society and class divide. Tommy has more chips on his shoulder than the local chippie, but there is no anger. In its place is intelligent analysis, and a fearful empathy. The various characters are soft targets. The real victim of Dawkins’ writing is society at large and the unfairness of its inbuilt hierarchies. Tommy’s greatest fear is that of betraying his origins. The fact that these issues can be dressed up in humour is testament to Claxton’s fine acting and interpretation of the text.

The final moments are quite moving. It doesn’t end with a bang. Nor a whimper. But something in between which touches us with emotional honesty. Tommy is a flawed character, but the play he finds himself in is a pretty faultless portrayal of him. Tommy might fear rejection, but “A Manchester Anthem” has no need to share that feeling. A real gift of a show.

Tag Archives: Hope Mill Theatre

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

★★★

Troubador Wembley Park

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

Troubadour Wembley Park

★★★

“the production’s infectious energy and sense of fun carry it through”