Take a chance on fab Abba night

Mamma Mia, Palace Theatre, Manchester
THE Abba musical is back in town after — remarkably — over four years.

And if I say it doesn’t seem that long, it’s hard to keep track, what with the multi-million-dollar movie, the continual plays of the “soundtrack” on radio and regular hearings at pretty well any party anyone ever goes to.

The version in Manchester until mid-June is actually the international touring version, one of 12 scattered round the world: here in the UK from Geneva and off to Belgium immediately afterwards.

And some wondered if Abba could make it two hits in a row after Waterloo in 1974.

The band was a phenomenon and so are the songs, which are the meat of Catherine Johnson’s cute story.

Into the tale of a Sophie, about to be married on an idyllic Greek island, and her attempt to find which of three men is her father, are woven over 20 Abba songs, almost all of them huge hits and many of them on anyone’s list of the most perfect three-minute pop tunes ever written.

But as the movie proved, the songs alone aren’t quite enough — which is why it came off slightly sterile, despite major stars.

This stage show hasn’t any major stars, but is many times better than the movie.

This is partly the pleasure of the shared live experience: everyone up on their feet for the finale performance of three favourite Abba hits is, I suspect, something the cast sees every night.

But more than that, the stage show is the sum of its parts: frothy and full of broad performances that only work on stage (principally Jennie Dale and Kate Graham as mum Donna’s friends Rosie and Tanya) but which contribute enormously to the fun.

Add the bright lights, the live band, the interesting, if simple, set and director Phyllida Lloyd’s concentration of effort in keeping these forces not just moving, but bouncing along, is an effort whose success is proved at every performance, every night.

The performers may not be big stars, but the aforementioned Dale and Graham, Sara Poyzer’s energetic performance as Donna, Charlotte Wakefield’s turn as charmingly devious daughter of three dads Sophie, her intended, David Roberts and the three dads themselves — former Corrie actor Richard Standing, Matthew Lloyd Davies and Charles Daish, all turned into distinctive characters, add to the mix of sun, sand, sexiness and songs.

And probably will for years yet.