A decade since Sunny Afternoon began its first tour, following a hugely successful two years in the West End, here it is at Liverpool Empire in the penultimate week of its second UK tour.
It is testament to the tremendous professionalism of the cast that, after over 7 months on the road since the tour began at Manchester’s Palace Theatre last October, they give a performance that is as fresh and driven as if they opened yesterday.
With book by Joe Penhall and music and lyrics by Ray Davies the show has been broadly categorised as a jukebox musical, but that perhaps understates its strong biographical narrative. This is far more than a collection of songs strung together by a frothy plot, as is the case with your average jukebox work.
The evolution of The Kinks through the 1960s forms the basis of the storyline, which weaves its way through the fiery relationship between Ray and David Davies and the band’s mixed fortunes as they navigate the complexities of working with management and coming to blows with international unions.
But the way in which it offers a compelling and often gritty narrative, which makes no attempt to glamorise over the hard times, is only part of what makes this show different. The cast that has been assembled are every bit as good as the finest of tribute bands, and with every note of the score played and sung by onstage actor-musicians, it balances robust storytelling with electrifying musical performances.
Capitalising on some of the band’s most memorable songs, we are teased from the early stages with the creation of that famous ‘power chord’ that eventually explodes into You Really Got Me. The show manages to include a great many of their lesser known songs too, while saving the really well known hits for the key moments in the story.
After a great deal of frenetic activity in the first act, the show settles into a gentler pace after the interval, gradually building the energy as we head to the finale, but before that we are treated to some tremendous renderings of more pensive songs like Days and Waterloo Sunset before picking up the pace with Lola, which takes us into the final power medley.
It is a large and uniformly outstanding cast, but particular mention must go to Danny Horn and Oliver Hoare as Ray and David Davies, Harry Curley as Pete Quaife and Zakarie Stokes as Mick Avorie. Edward Hall directs with a good eye for dramatic structure as well as giving full voice to the music, which almost becomes a character in its own right.
Miriam Buether’s set, which surrounds the stage in towering stacks of loudspeakers, is sumptuously lit by Rick Fisher, while Matt McKenzie’s sound design strikes a fine balance between pitching it as a musical show and a ‘60s gig.
Sunny Afternoon has persuaded me to dust down the original Kinks LPs that my brother bought in the 1960s, and has made a new Kinks fan out of my youngest great nephew who saw the show a little earlier in the tour, so it is very safe to say that Sunny Afternoon is not only a great night out, but a show that will win over fans both old and new.
Sunny Afternoon is at Liverpool Empire until 23rd May and then ends this tour with a final week at Cardiff Millennium Centre.
Star rating: 4½ stars
Production photography by Manuel Harlan
Danny Horn and company 
Danny Horn and Oliver Hoare .jpg)
Danny Horn and company
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