Lauren Allan, Lauren Bimson, Madeleine Doody, Gabrielle Cummins and Isabella Mason in SHOUT! The Musical [Zac Cooke]

SHOUT! The Mod Musical
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
3.5 stars

SHOUT! The Mod Musical is a whirlwind tour through the swinging 1960s, following five thoroughly modern women navigating the decade’s sexual and social revolutions.

Created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein, the show features iconic hits by Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, Lulu and Shirley Bassey. The story, such as it is, explores the characters’ emancipation and changing desires.

Each unnamed woman (Lauren Allan, Lauren Bimson, Madeleine Doody, Gabrielle Cummins and Isabella Mason) is identified by a different colour. They read Shout magazine and write to its agony aunt, Gwendolyn Holmes (voiced by Pippa Winslow).

They seek advice on everything from errant husbands to birth control, sexual identity and female pleasure. Gwendolyn’s responses are predictably patronising, until the women start to question her advice and make decisions for themselves.

This is very much a musical of two halves. There’s little nuance in the first half of Joseph Hodges’ production, the choral work is occasionally overamplified and Jay Garner’s choreography feels a little repetitive. James Davies’s extravagant wigs, though splendid, are distracting.

However, the female three-piece band is fab and, as the show finds its rhythm, everyone gets a chance to shine. The solos soar, and spirited renditions of the Isley Brothers’ Shout, Boris Formin and Gene Raskin’s Those Were the Days and Tony Hatch’s Downtown almost bring the house down.

Until July 20
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