Douglas Mayo reviews Gals Aloud at the Leicester Square Spiegeltent as part of Christmas In Leicester Square.
Gals Aloud
Christmas In Leicester Square
21 November 2018
4 Stars
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Gals Aloud – Not the tucking kind is part of the programme Christmas In Leicester Square. It’s a sign of the times I suppose, that you find yourself reviewing a show as part of the Christmas In Leicester Square programme in November! Yet on a wet London evening I ventured out to see this drag satire of British pop group Girls Aloud.
During a one act frantic tribute, Cheryl, Nadine, Sarah, Nicola and Kimberley are run through their paces and mercilessly lampooned by this treat of a production. What makes it all the more amazing is that in true drag tradition quite a lot of the show is lip-synched to an extremely well research and edited audio track of the girls themselves interspersed amongst their pop tracks. To see Girls Aloud turned into comedy gold using their own words is worth the price of admission itself.
Take this and combine it with choreography by Cheryl Hole and Demi Noire that takes the essence of Girls Aloud and adds a liberal splash of humour and you have an idea of what awaits you at Gals Aloud.
There are great group numbers following which one by one each of the girls gets a solo moment in the spotlight Nadine (played by HERR), Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hole), Nicola (played by Seriah Sis), Sarah (played by Margo Marshall), and Kimberley (Ophelia Love) each character mercilessly targeted by the drag artist and director Christopher D Clegg.
Most of Gals Aloud is lip-synched and it’s great but where the show really comes into its own is during Kimberley’s several attempts to shine. Given a chance to actually interact with the audience in real time and sing I’ll Stand By You Ophelia Love (who is just happy to be here) brings the show to life and was certainly a high point for me. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the use of the lip-synch track throughout more of the live performance aspect (for me at least) wouldn’t have gone astray.
Gals Aloud is a punchy, fun early evening’s entertainment and the audience were certainly on-side throughout. It’s not in any way Christmassy but it’s a hell of a lot of fun!
Returning 5 January 2019
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