REVIEW: The Wedding Singer, Kings Theatre, Portsmouth, until September 30

The Wedding Singer was brilliant when it played Southampton's Mayflower back in April. It's equally so all these months later '“ a tribute to the supreme talents of the cast and to the huge lift the show gives everyone, not least the performers themselves.
The Wedding Singer - Samuel Holmes as George and Ruth Madoc as Grandma RosieThe Wedding Singer - Samuel Holmes as George and Ruth Madoc as Grandma Rosie
The Wedding Singer - Samuel Holmes as George and Ruth Madoc as Grandma Rosie

It is witty, it is engaging and it has got real heart – and not just Robbie Hart, the wedding singer of the title who gets dumped on his wedding day and slumps into grumpy cynicism, even – abandoning all his principles – going off to work instead for money-obsessed Wall Street trader Glen (Ray Quinn)

Jon Robyns is superb as Robbie, bright and optimistic and then suddenly surly and snarly. Fortunately there’s Julia – a lovely performance from Cassie Compton – to bring him back from the brink, even if she does seem intent on sleepwalking into her own emotional nightmare.

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The characters are appealing, the music is great and the whole thing cracks along at pace on a deliciously-enjoyable night. Samuel Holmes as a Boy-George George in the supporting cast is outstanding, but maybe the memory that will linger longest is Ruth Madoc as rapping Grandma Rosie. Just wait for those somersaults!