It’s no great secret that I am absolutely Walking In Space when it comes to all things Hair related, and the opportunity to see this revival production to celebrate 50 years of this marvellous show was definitely something I had absolutely no intention of missing whilst it was here in Manchester, England, England!
I’m not going to do a HUGE review as I’ve gone on and on about the 2010 Broadway/West End production a heap already, but suffice to say that this 50th Anniversary tour had strong elements of the 2010 production, whilst also managing to carve out a new identity for itself.
I really enjoyed watching the cast perform the show, and the casting of (the somehow unknown to me!) Jake Quickenden turned out to be a HUGE triumph as Berger, as was Paul Wilkins as Claude, who provided some stand-out vocals last night!
Speaking of the vocals, step on up to the ladies, you vixens were SO fantastic and you all took turns at swinging that bat and knocking it out of the park. Incredible and you did the classics proud!
You never go to Hair to admire the sets, let’s be honest, there’s barely even the one! However the set up was great, versatile and worked well with the show. I enjoyed seeing the musicians on stage and their blending/interacting with the cast (rather than the usual where they stick a band on stage and everyone ignores them).
Only the one minor negative, the sound quality at times was disappointing, boomy, and too loud. Often you were unable to make out the words. I’m not sure if it was just owing to the venue, else maybe the position that I was sat in, but it wasn’t constant, which makes me wonder.
In summation, it was a great night out, the choreography was stunning, though I didn’t get emotional at the end, like I usually do, but it definitely isn’t a bad production – I’d definitely return to see it again!
Hair is currently touring the UK and is approx 2 hours 30 minutes (inc. 20 minute interval)
For more details, please see their official website: https://www.hair50.com
