Co-created by TV producers Nell Butler and Genevieve Welch, who have both worked on the hit Channel 4 series, this new musical looks a little at those on the other side of the lens, as we take the lightest of dips into the production side of things as the director, cameraman, and sound engineer go about filming the 1000th episode of the show.
I'll be brutally honest, I was disappointed by it. For me, part of the problem was that I'd expected to see some of the on-screen ridiculousness and dramas brought to life on stage, and there was very little of that. Notably absent was any form of kitchen disasters, cringeworthy attempts at entertainment, or indeed the iconic acerbic wit of narrator Dave Lamb.
Another problem was the narrative. With someone apparently sabotaging the contestants’ dishes, it was purported to be a mystery of sorts, but very little time was devoted to trying to figure it out. Instead, we had a romantic storyline involving the sound guy and one of the contestants who are old schoolmates, which overshadowed it somewhat. As a result, the mystery being ‘unravelled’ essentially boiled down to someone shouting “you did it!” followed by some weak explanations. I do accept however that with the performance only being around 60 mins, a full exploration of the plot was impossible.
It certainly wasn’t all bad, and Daniele Coombe as the director Mary was fabulous in her solo number (we weren’t supplied with a list of the songs or their titles), while Harry Chandler and Sophie Hutchinson did a superb job with their slushy duet as Teddy the sound man and contestant Janey. Chandler’s commanding voice was undoubtedly an overall highlight from the production too. There was also a number of funny gags/puns in the dialogue which helped give an overall lift to the production
Coming into this, I was quite enthused by the idea of Come Dine With Me being served up as a musical, but while those stirring the pot did a creditable job, ultimately I felt it was the lack of winning ingredients that let the dish down. Come Dine With Me the Musical continues at Norwich Theatre Playhouse until 27 July.
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