Must-see nostalgia for fifty-somethings

THE YOUNG ONES: (l-r) Gemma Wardle, Gavin Spokes, Stephen Fletcher, Georgina White and Christopher Pizzey. Picture Ian Tilton, courtesy of the theatre

UP ON THE ROOF, Oldham Coliseum

THOSE of you in your fifties will probably enjoy this show — a lot. It is full of music that was the soundtrack to your teens.

Hull University, 1975, five student friends whose time seems to have been mainly spent in their “roof club”, singing acapella pop songs, climb up for one last time.

The five are carefully chosen types: beautiful art student, nerdy scientist, self-assured loser, wallflower girl and, well, slob, and over the next decade we see them progress from student to adult life, their disappointments, successes and might-have-beens.

As a formula it’s a little different from the other musical shows popular from the late Eighties (this dates from 1987) through the Nineties: the music is pop standards without the backing, which makes it unusual enough; but more than that it is an actual play about ordinary people, rather than a thinly-veiled concert of a pop icon’s hits.

This is good and bad: if the music is bad, you at least get something interesting to follow; if the music is good, the play just stops another dozen songs being sung.

Here, well, it’s a bit of both. The play is amusing enough and the people likewise, and the music is pop from one of its great eras, when there were tunes, lyrics and people with talent, putting out numbers like “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”, “I’ll Be There” and even the title song, as well as everyday hits like “Never Can Say Goodbye”, “It’s In His Kiss” and “Band of Gold”.

But while brilliantly chosen, the acapella hook on which the show is hung proves its slight undoing. The five actor-singers — Stephen Fletcher as confident Scott, Georgina White as arty Bryony, Gemma Wardle as wallflower Angela, Christopher Pizzey as nerdy Tim and Gavin Spokes as the most amusing member of the bunch, slobby Keith, do a very good harmonising job, by and large, but frankly it gets a bit much after the sixth or seventh number.

It makes you wish just one of the students had been diligent enough to pick up a guitar or play the piano.

Peter Rowe directs with confidence if not excitement, and the three sets — 1975 roof, 1980 church hall and 1985 south of France villa, are nicely created.

It’s not an earth-shattering show, but as nostalgia it’s probably essential viewing. Take your children: show them what they’re missing with today’s pop.