My first person singular usually sits quietly in the corner while I write reviews, but I’m going to need to let it put in an appearance here to put this one into context. Since first staged at Central Hall in 2012, Mam! I'm 'Ere! has become a huge hit, enjoying repeated revivals at the Royal Court and always filling the theatre. As it arrives back onstage again this month there surely can’t be anyone in Liverpool who hasn’t seen it – right?
Wrong – there’s me. Somehow I have been unable to get to any of this show’s outings so far, so I have had the happy privilege of seeing it for the first time, and just in case there is anyone else out there like me I’m going to give you a brief rundown.
Sally is preparing to tie the knot in a wedding set to take place at the down-at-heel Welsh island holiday camp where both her dad Dave and her intended Charlie are yellowcoats. She has never known her mother, because she was left on her dad’s doorstep as a baby. In a bid to ensure that her full family can be at the wedding, Sally has invited the three most likely candidates for ‘Mam’ to the island on the pretence of having won a competition. So it is that the three party-animals Brenda, Mandy and Julie all arrive for a fun weekend in a caravan, unaware that they are in for a few big surprises.
Yes folks – it’s Mamma Mia turned on its head, and in one last twist to this shameless riff on that other reasonably successful show, there isn’t a single note of ABBA to be heard amongst the disco-filled soundtrack.
While Dave and his fellow yellowcoats Teddy and Alfie celebrate the sudden influx of guests at the failing business, Sally tries to keep her dad away from the three old flames who are in one of his caravans, because she knows he’s not exactly going to be thrilled to see them all. We just know that those flames are going to kindle quite a conflagration when the cat gets out of the bag.
It’s a slapstick rollercoaster with its wheels oiled by a steady stream of 70s hits and fuelled by the electricity of an onstage band. There are charming performances from Hayley Sheen and Michael Fletcher as the happy couple in for an unusual wedding, but of course the heavy-duty laughing gas is provided by two trios of comic characters. Joining the show’s cast for the first time and absolutely smashing it as Brenda and Alfie are Kacey Ainsworth and Liam Tobin, who Liverpool audiences saw opposite each other leading the Everyman’s Sweeney Todd in 2019. Tobin is palled up here with Andrew Schofield and Alan Stocks, who have done this all before, and their timing, both individually and as an ensemble is extraordinary. Here are actors who can be funny without opening their mouths, and they have the audience in pleats with laughter. The story also offers an opportunity for Stocks to roll out his celebrated Irish Priest routine, with which he almost brings the show to a standstill. Meanwhile, Ainsworth is joined in the caravan by the ever popular Lynn Francis and Lindzi Germain as Mandy and Julie, who also clock a high score on the laugh-o-meter.
Add to this four disco divas Mollie Cranmer, Mia Molloy, Natasha Gooden and Shannon McFadden and what you have is 2 hours of frothy fun and musical mayhem. Whether you’re returning to the show or experiencing it for the first time like me, it will certainly keep you chuckling in your seat, and the changes to the cast obviously serve to keep it fresh
The cast of Mam! I'm 'Ere! - image © Jason Roberts
Star rating: 4 stars
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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