Bucks &amp; Oxon

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If you&#8217;re dreaming of snorkelling in the Grecian sea before emerging for a cocktail, rather than hibernating on your sofa in your Christmas PJs, then pack your platforms and sashay down to Oxford&#8217;s New Theatre, where smash hit Mamma Mia! is playing until 31 Dec. 



It was certainly a welcome break for me &#8211; coming into from a nippy -4 bundled up in my coat and scarf, I was immediately transported to a sunny Greek island thanks to the stonewashed taverna set, perfectly retro costumes (a kaleidoscope of embellished jeans, sequins and patchwork) and enviably suntanned cast. 



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If you&#8217;re not familiar with the musical &#8211; it&#8217;s the sixth longest-running show in West End history and spawned a 2008 film starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan, where have you been? &#8211; it tells the tale of Sophie, a young bride-to-be, trying to figure out which of her mother&#8217;s three ex-lovers could be her father by inviting them to her Greek island wedding, all through the music of Abba. Sounds mad, but it&#8217;s a total classic for a reason: the feel-good factor is through the roof here, and you&#8217;ll find yourself wanting to sing and dance along (hold your horses, there&#8217;ll be plenty of time for that in the encore). 



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If you are familiar with the film, you&#8217;ll know that it&#8217;s synonymous with slightly cringey vocals, but no such worries here. The entire cast did a fantastic job with Benny and Björn&#8217;s master works, with lead Sara Poyzer absolutely blowing it out of the water as Sophie&#8217;s mother and ex-girl band sensation Donna Sheridan. She steps into Donna&#8217;s linen dungarees and artfully mussed hair with aplomb, by turns growling, grinning and eye-rolling her way through the pieces. Her version of &#8216;The Winner Takes It All&#8217;, which she sings to actual real-life husband Richard Standing playing Sam Carmichael, gave me goosebumps that had nothing to do with the chill, and I unashamedly teared up at mother-daughter number &#8216;Slipping Through My Fingers&#8217; (I wasn&#8217;t the only mum dabbing at their eyes during this number either). 



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When she&#8217;s not breaking our hearts with solos, Donna is living it up with best friends and band members, Dynamos Tanya (played by Helen Anker, who deserves extra mention for gliding around the stage in vertiginous heels while the rest of the cast often sport sandals or bare feet) and Rosie (played by Nicky Swift). This trio have some of the most famous Abba numbers of the whole production, and their girl group costumes &#8211; bejewelled spandex catsuits, frilled flares and platforms &#8211; were a joy to behold. 



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Donna&#8217;s ex-boyfriends, Sam Carmichael, Bill Austin (Phil Corbitt) and Harry Bright (Daniel Crowder) are a welcome foil to all the girly giddiness, and each holds their own impressively well. Richard Standing&#8217;s surprisingly poignant rendition of &#8216;Knowing Me, Knowing You&#8217; as Sam recalls his divorce is emotional enough to knock all Alan Partridge references out of your head, for one. 



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It&#8217;s not just the oldies having all the fun in this show, though &#8211; the young&#8217;uns totally smash it too, with Jena Pandya playing an excellent wide-eyed ingenue in Sophie. Her voice is beautifully light, and her duets with fiancé Sky (played by blonde R-Patz-alike Toby Miles) have some serious chemistry. Granted, this could be because he&#8217;s often half naked &#8211; including a scene in which he strips down to his boxers to put a wetsuit on &#8211; but any steamy vibes are immediately spoiled by the hilarious flippers-and-snorkel choreography to &#8216;Lay All Your Love on Me&#8217;.



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Speaking of which, the dance numbers are famous in this show, and the latest iteration holds up to the reputation preceding it. Particular shout out goes to &#8216;Gimme Gimme Gimme&#8217; and &#8216;Voulez-Vous&#8216;, which are both all-cast numbers that the dancers make look easy, and &#8216;Does Your Mother Know&#8217;, in which James Willoughby Moore playing Pepper shows off both his impressive acrobatics skills and his comedy chops. 



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Of course, all the dance numbers come to a head in the encore, in which the show throws off the shackles of the storyline and the whole thing becomes theatre-wide karaoke, with practically everyone (yours truly included) singing and shimmying in the aisles. You can see why it&#8217;s popular with birthdays, big groups and girls&#8217; nights out &#8211; regardless of your feelings on Abba, it&#8217;s basically impossible to leave without a smile (and probably &#8216;Super Trouper&#8217; stuck on repeat in your head). Catch it before 2023! 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



Good for:&nbsp;Mothers and daughters and groups of girlfriends will get the most out of the storyline, and Abba fans are a natural fit, but the audience was a real mix on the night I visited. Take anyone who needs a little escapism from the Christmas season! 



Not for: Cynics. This is a show that works best when you embrace the cheesy, high-camp vibes, so if you&#8217;re after Pinter, best sit this one out. 



<a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/mamma-mia/new-theatre-oxford/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mamma Mia!</a>&nbsp;is at New Theatre Oxford, 24-26 George St, Oxford OX1 2AG until Saturday 31 Dec.&nbsp;Tickets from £13 &#8211; <a href="https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/mamma-mia/new-theatre-oxford/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">book here</a>.

Review: ‘Mamma Mia!’ at New Theatre Oxford

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