Kinks show really got me going

REVIEW: 'Sunny Afternoon' vibrates with the reverb

To quote the hit song, this Really Got Me Going. An evening spent revelling in this 'Sunny Afternoon' has sent The Kinks straight back to the top of my playlist.

The story of the stumbling rise of this quintessentially English band is told with verve and passion in this heartfelt musical. If you didn’t love their music before seeing this, you will by the end of the show.

And there were things I’d forgotten: Did you remember that they wrote that Pretenders hit Stop Sobbing? Or  I Go To Sleep? And you can easily imagine the Oasis brothers Noel and Liam singing the gritty but melancholy Sitting in My Hotel.

From the early days of their disastrous first contracts (“I own 51 per cent of you,” one manager tellingly explained to bewildered songwriting genius Ray Davies) through to their even more disastrous first tour to America, which saw them banned from the country, this is not just warts and all, it’s bunions and verrucas too. With a few right hooks thrown in for good measure.

And it’s definitely rock and roll. The price of your ticket includes the memorably splendid sight of Oliver Hoare as a short fused but irrepressible Dave Davies literally swinging from a chandelier. Nice.

And although at time you will feel your body vibrate with the reverb, there are gentler and even insightful moments, such as when Ray (mesmerizingly dangerous Danny Horn) and his young (and unplanned) wife Rasa (delightful Sorrel Jordan) can’t communicate. And you might well find tears in your eyes in the beautifully crafted scenes where they are slowly creating their iconic hit Waterloo Sunset.

Singing talent is on full display as the band members sing a spine-tingling acapella version of their classic Days (also of course covered by Kirsty MacColl) with their departing management team but the big hits get the full rock treatment: You Really Got Me, All Day, Lola…

Ray Davies had a big part in the creation of this show with the music, lyrics and original story but Joe Penhall’s book is a real strength, brought to life by a terrific ensemble cast. Director Edward Hall gives a vigorous sense of pace while Miriam Buether’s costumes and set are delightfully spot on. 

All we need now is a reliably sunny afternoon to kick back, relax and wallow in the delights of music that somehow couldn’t have come from anywhere else. Great stuff.