{"id":1450747,"date":"2025-09-10T17:33:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T16:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?p=1450747"},"modified":"2025-09-10T17:36:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T16:36:50","slug":"steps-musical-here-now-is-a-fun-feel-good-and-fabulous-night-out-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/performance\/steps-musical-here-now-is-a-fun-feel-good-and-fabulous-night-out-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Steps musical Here & Now is a fun, feel-good and fabulous night out – review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following its debut in Birmingham last year, Here & Now<\/em> – the new musical based on Steps’ back catalogue – has embarked on a UK tour, opening last week at the Manchester Opera House. You’re probably already familiar with the songs – Steps’ music has been a staple of many a queer night and pride event for the best part of three decades – but what is the show all about?<\/p>\n

This new musical – book by Shaun Kitchener, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh – is set in an English seaside town, with the action largely unfolding in a supermarket called Better Best Bargains (we see what they did there)… or more specifically in and amongst aisles 5, 6, 7 and 8 (we also see what they did there).<\/p>\n

We’re introduced to co-workers and besties Caz (Rebecca Lock), Vel (Jacqui Dubois), Neeta (Rosie Singha) and Robbie (Blake Patrick Anderson). At the opening of the show, it is two weeks until Caz’s 50th birthday; the quartet decide that they are going to use the two weeks productively, and make a pact to finally sort their love lives out. Cue two hours of being pushed outside of their comfort zones, with each character taking a chance on their own respective happy ending.<\/p>\n

It’s not the deepest or most profound show, but then we weren’t expecting that. What Here & Now<\/em> does very effectively is blend the every day with occasional moments of emotional depth; with the supermarket setting and the very ordinary dilemmas our characters find themselves in, it feels a bit like watching a soap – perhaps unsurprising, given that Shaun Kitchener has been a regular writer on Hollyoaks<\/em> for the last few years.<\/p>\n

Like any jukebox musical, the narrative has been written to fit the songs – in other shows this often feels somewhat forced, but for the most part it works here. Sure, one or two tunes are bit shoehorned in, but most of the time the lyrics work well with the story. The highlight is undoubtedly the truly inspired use of tender ballad ‘Heartbeat’; it’s reimagined in an entirely different light (we shan’t spoil it here) which provides the show’s most poignant moment – it’s really rather moving.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the songs – what absolute bangers they are! Of all the back catalogues to choose, Steps’ music really lends itself well to a musical: they have countless upbeat tunes and plenty of choreography ready to go. Choreographer Matt Cole has done a fantastic job reimagining these iconic routines – it’s far from simply a copy\/paste job, although there are plenty of references to the original moves in there. Highlights include the absolutely ridiculous ‘half price hoedown’ that accompanies ‘5, 6, 7, 8’, which we thought was one of most outlandish sequences we’d seen on stage until we witnessed RuPaul’s Drag Race UK<\/em> star River Medway fronting a rendition of ‘Chain Reaction’, which is camper than any Rusical episode we’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

Each member of the cast absolutely holds their own, though we wanted to draw attention to Rebecca Lock in what is effectively the lead role of Caz – the musical hinges on her story, and she handles the majority of the lead vocals. Her voice is surprisingly reminiscent of Claire Richards – which of course works very well here.<\/p>\n

We had a great time with Here & Now<\/em> – no, it’s not high art, but were you expecting that from a jukebox musical based on Steps songs? We were expecting a fun, feel-good and fabulous night out, and that’s exactly what we got. If you’re a fan of Steps, or if you just fancy a hearty dose of escapism right now, this is the show for you.<\/p>\n

GAY TIMES gives Here & Now – 4\/5<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here & Now is touring the UK until May 2026; more information can be found here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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