The fantastic homage to Northern Soul Do I Love You by the award-winning playwright and Director John Godber makes a very welcome return to the New Vic.
Highly acclaimed when it first made an appearance it remains as a delightful piece of nostalgia both to those who are still keeping the faith and also those who are being newly introduced to the scene.
Sally (Martha Godber), Kyle (Emilio Encinoso-Gil) and Natalie (Chloe McDonald) are twenty-somethings living a monochrome life in Hull. But if they believe that life in the “normal” world of the provincial north-east of England has little to hold out hope for them, then the horrors of post-Covid Britain makes a drab world become even bleaker.
Stuck in a non-satisfying life working at a local fast food chicken outlet – “Would you like fries with that? Pass on to the next window please.” Is their usual dialogue – there seems little or no outlet as the lack of a social life and the collapsed club scene mean that living in humdrum Hull becomes depressingly repetitive.
Sally’s only escape outside her immediate bubble is her life with her Gran (McDonald) who confesses that she once had a chance to escape her claustrophobic existence and run away with an American airman and his exotic music collection.
Kyle has noticed an advert for an all-nighter at the Beachcomber in Cleethorpes and suggests they should give it a go. After all, at £3 a go for 8 hours of entertainment what is there to lose?
And it is from this point that their lives are changed forever. Behind the Beachcomber doors lies a world where people of a certain age glide across the floor, men dance with other men, men dance alone, women dance with their daughters and everything is so smooth. There is even a drugs scene that causes no fighting with their being more asthma inhalers being used than pints of beer drunk.
Three events happen that turn Sally’s life around. Firstly, the developing friendship between Kyle and Nat threatens to snap the hitherto unbreakable triangle of friendship; secondly, Gran passes away and that gives Sally access to the vast archive of vinyl stored in the loft; and thirdly, she meets Keith (Encinoso-Gil) – the self-styled King of Northern Soul with a dubious past – who explains why the music genre has become so important to its devotees.
Keith explains that for the lower members of society the music has become a rock to cling to when many of the other factors of working-class life such as the loss of traditional industry have changed Northern Britain for ever.
From this point on, Sally has the sole aim of dancing at Northern Soul’s Mecca – the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool. Will she manage to reach the dancing heights that will make her fit to grace the famous dancefloor? How will she be able to fulfil a dream that was out of touch for her Gran? And what will happen to her friendships? What a fabulous journey she takes us on to find the answers.
This has everything that a play of this type requires. The cast of three play their parts beautifully and they give the air of being friends in true life, there is humour aplenty and then there is the music and choreography.
Sally Molloy has passed on her skills of being a former World Northern Soul Dance Champion impeccably and the teasing snippets of classic music tracks has the audience as well as the actors sighing “Tune!!!”. Given half a chance, those able to would have loved to step centre stage and strut their stuff along with the cast. There were many smiles and tears of nostalgia among the audience and a well-deserved standing ovation.
Seeing this play for the second time was an even more joyous experience than I had expected. Hopefully, the New Vic and John Godber will Keep the Faith and send this piece of drama to the country on a regular basis. I would Wade Through The Water to get to another performance. It is far better than Love On A Mountain Top and the audience will remember it Long After Tonight Is All Over.
Enough of trying to work classic hit titles into the review. I will finish by saying to Sally, Kyle, Nat, Gran and Keith Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)
