BWW Reviews: THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE - THE MUSICAL, Curve Theatre Leicester, March 17 2015

Last night saw the world premiere of new musical The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole at the Curve in Leicester. Being a champion for original writing and aptly being author Sue Townsend's home town, it was only right that this show sees its debut here. Many people hold the books in high regard - myself included - and watching it last night made me reminisce. Set in 1980s Leicester, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole centres around a boy aged 13 and ¾ who is essentially battling through adolescent life; from spots to girls to bullies, Adrian is encountering all of them! Townsend's books are written in Adrian's words and in diary format so I was incredibly intrigued about how this could successfully be adapted for stage.

Ultimately the show succeeds in a big way. Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary are responsible for the book and music respectively with a combined effort on the lyrics. What we hear and see is a very accomplished piece of writing. Occasionally the first-person narrative does get a little lost, particularly when examining his parents' relationship but this said, Adrian's character does carry the weight of the show as expected. There are different styles of music explored throughout the repertoire and some pieces revisited as the story unfolds - I have had the lyric "Pandora, I adore ya" going through my head ever since! The lyrics are very witty and every single performer has great diction so I heard every word. Luke Sheppard has directed the piece very well and works the complete set, brilliantly designed by Tom Rogers. From the proscenium arch of diary entries to the misshaped houses, it felt like a pop-up book whereby every time you 'turned the page', a new pop-up image appeared - very clever.

The cast consists of ten performers; four of whom are child actors. This meant that the adults were playing children in parts (which I didn't mind) but also several characters were doubled or tripled up. This felt a little confused on occasion, especially because the characters are so vibrant - particularly in Amy Booth-Steel's case, who was extraordinary I must add. Joel Fossard-Jones played Adrian at last night's performance and did an excellent job in leading such a big show. What occasionally he lacked in vocal ability, he made up for in bounds in his characterisation. Samuel Small and Harrison Slater as best friend Nigel and bully Barry respectively also gave very confident performances. The star for me though was Imogen Gurney as Pandora; she will be one to watch in the near future - so self-assured and excels in all three areas of musical theatre. Kirsty Hoiles and Neil Ditt play Adrian's parents and are superb. Hoiles' acting during 'How Could You?' sung by Rosemary Ashe as Grandma in Act Two is just exquisite. Her reaction to the number is fuelled by Ashe's powerhouse vocal delivery and was a joy to watch.

With a tiny bit of tightening, I believe this show could have a long future ahead of it. I hope so!

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole plays at the Curve Theatre, Leicester until Saturday 4th April 2015.

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