“Most pubs have a football team, a darts team, an intimidatingly vast array of weirdly named real ales. This pub has a choir, always has. We are the current class… we are The Choir of Man.”
Before I begin, I would like, just for a moment, for you to pause and think about how many musicals you’ve seen recently that centre the male experience. No really, stop and think about it for a second.
While I can list handfuls of musicals and theatre shows with men at the forefront of their story, playing the principal roles and stealing the hearts of everyone in the audience, I really struggle to think of many male protagonists that are there for… well, the men in the audience.
It’s a stereotype I hate to buy into, but many musical theatre shows are tailored towards anyone other than the ‘average guy’. The bloke who likes to watch a bit of football on a Saturday and sit in the pub with his mates on a Sunday is not who you would typically picture sitting in the theatre on a Wednesday matinee ready for a musical. It can be argued that many of the current shows popular on the West End stage do cater largely to more of a female gaze, flipping the ‘traditional’ narratives we might see in film or television on their head and instead putting women front and centre with their own agency. We can look at shows like Six as a prime example. But there’s not really been a male equivalent to that – a show that takes the existing patriarchal(?) structures of the theatre that harm men just as much as women and non-binary folks and completely tosses them in the bin.
This is the first show I’ve ever seen that’s just about blokes. Just lads being lads. Men being men. Etc etc. Not in a misogynistic way, but an open and honest discussion of healthy masculinity. These aren’t knights in shining armour, they’re not legends of the musical world, they are just… men. Men with wives, boyfriends, families. Men with character, men with interests, and most importantly men with feelings.
We first discovered Choir of Man at West End Live 2021. The sun was shining, we were in Trafalgar Square nice and early to catch the performances from the Les Mis cast and the Mamma Mia cast. It was such a great atmosphere with theatre finally being back in peoples lives and everyone seemed to be up for having a great time. The boys from the Choir of Man had a mid-afternoon slot which was perfectly timed to lift the mood of the crowd (especially following the showcase from the English National Opera).
Suddenly, a burst of energy hit the stage and the cast of Choir of Man launched into a rendition of Save Tonight/Wake Me Up, a thrilling mashup that had me hooked pretty much from the second we hit the first chorus. After that I knew I absolutely had to see this show while I had the chance.
Taking up residency at the Arts Theatre in Seven Dials, the Choir of Man replicates your typical pub setting in the comfort of a theatre. The stage comes complete with working beer tap and audiences are encouraged to come up and join the cast for a free pint before the show starts. The pre-show entertainment really sets the scene for the next 90 minutes of your day, with all the cast laughing and joking around not only with each other but with everyone coming to see the show.
I can’t pretend I didn’t have a slight reservation before coming to see Choir of Man, fearing that it could be a little too blokey for my liking or that it could fall foul of being just a bit too ‘straight men drink beer’. And you know what, that’s on me and my preconceived ideas of what to expect from a show with a full male cast. I’ve never been happier to have my own prejudices squashed within the first 5 minutes of a show’s run time.
Largely there is no ‘plot’ to this musical. There is no beginning, middle and end to the narrative – only to the fictional night out that we are witnessing. The characters are the story, and their story continues to exist outside the four walls of the theatre auditorium.
At times based on the real lived experiences of each cast member, we are taken through the lives of each character within the show and given an insight into what they’re thinking and feeling through the medium of song. We learn that the Barman (Mark Loveday, West End Debut), is struggling with his relationship through The Pina Colada Song. We learn that the Romantic (Miles Anthony Daley, Thriller), is reeling from his latest heartbreak. We learn that men really are gross when they’re using a urinal to the tune of Under the Bridge. Everything you might expect from a bunch of friends just simply hanging out at the pub is there, narrated so eloquently by Ben Norris (West End Debut) playing the Poet.
One of the key recurring themes within the show is the importance of community and safe spaces. There is one monologue that focuses specifically on this about how, particularly in large cities, the traditional safe spaces that many communities have come to rely on are being stolen. Whether this is because they are being priced out by property developers or because the pandemic has robbed them of all their business which forced them to close, it’s an all too familiar reality that we are facing in this country today. What I loved about this segment is that it incorporated all safe spaces – from those of the religious variety to those like pubs and social clubs – and was very aware of the problems facing many communities in modern society. While we see businesses being bought to be replaced with ‘soulless flats’ we also see this happen to places of worship and the long-standing homes of multiple generations. This part of the show really hit home to me and reminded me that while theatre can be fun and full of pop songs it can also stop and make you think within the same breath.
Another theme I wanted to touch on from the show was the concept of emotions and the commentary on ‘toxic masculinity’ that harms men by telling them that they shouldn’t feel emotions. This show basically takes that concept, scrunches it up into a ball and tosses it in the bin. Particularly when it comes to grief. During Dance With My Father Again, the narrative touches on the familiar feelings of loss and grief that many of us are all too familiar with. It also acknowledges that these feelings have hit many more of us so unexpectedly throughout the last two years of the covid pandemic. Sadly, this song didn’t make the cast recording which in my opinion needs to be rectified, because it’s a truly beautiful moment in the show amongst the upbeat numbers.
I came out of the show having felt every possible emotion there is. I laughed, I cried, I felt uplifted and inspired. It’s really a testament to the creative team of the show (Ben Norris, Jack Blume and Nic Doodson) who have taken the concept of a jukebox musical and turned it on its head. The folk inspired covers, the diversity within the casting and the honesty of the story is really something that I do not feel like I’ve ever seen before on stage.
It also wouldn’t be an Overstudies blog post without a big shout out to one of the wonderful super swings of the show – George Bray. On both occasions I’ve seen this show at the Arts Theatre I’ve seen him in two different tracks – the first time as the Handyman and the second time as the Barman. Both roles have very different demands, the Handyman having two very intense tap numbers and the Barman making a mean pina colada and singing into a mop, and he absolutely smashed both.
I could write for days and days about all the positives to this show, but I fear we’d be looking at an essay not a blog post. So, I’m going to try and keep it as short and as sweet as possible. I’m very sad to say that Choir of Man is closing on the West End in April, but I am manifesting a UK touring production as soon as possible so as many people can see this show. Currently on a tour across the US, this show lends itself very well to regional productions with minimal tech costs and accessibility of the whole experience. It’s one I will be going out of my way to see when it inevitably does tour the UK, and something I hope I can convince as many people as possible to see while they can.
The Choir of Man is showing at the Arts Theatre, London, until the 3rd April. Watch back the West End Live performance here or listen to the soundtrack here.
