United Kingdom The Choir of Man: Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, 15.9.2026. (JPr) ****
A few extracts from the programme explains the idea behind – what has now become a worldwide phenomenon – The Choir of Man. Andrew Kay originally outlined his idea to his co-creator Nic Doodson as ‘A group of ordinary blokes who meet up to sing a few songs over a drink or two. It’s not just about the drinking, and it’s not just about the singing. It’s about being together. Laughing, crying, singing, shouting, talking… whatever it is, it’s about the joy of being in the same place at the same time as the people you love.’
That doesn’t mention all the dancing we also see, and movement director and choreographer Freddie Huddleston explained how ‘Every stumble, mop and pint is there for a reason. The rule I live by for the show is. If it looks like we are “doing a thing” then we have overdone it […] We work on every movement being as true to real life as possible even when bursting into song or throwing a few shapes.’ (Or even the tap-dancing Gene Kelly would have been proud of from the ‘Handyman’ character in the show; though I am not sure if I’ve ever seen anyone tap-dancing in my local though?)
Jack Blume, who is responsible for the music, emphasises that while ‘The Choir of Man has music at its core. It’s more concert than it is Musical, and there’s rarely a moment where instruments aren’t being played in full view. It requires an exceptional level of talent from the nine actor-musicians, and a mind-boggling level of versatility from our four super-swings. (Indeed two of those came off the substitutes’ bench, Niall Woodson’s ‘Handyman’ and Lewis Dragisic’s ‘Bore’, and proved themselves as exceptionally talented as their other seven colleagues.)
The final word of this introduction I leave again to Nic Doodson who revealed how ‘Since opening at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, The Choir of Man has spent over four years in London’s West End, toured multiple times across the USA, Europe and Australia, Korea and China, played three sold-out seasons at the Sydney Opera House, appeared on cruise ships, made a home in Chicago and even picked up an Olivier Award nomination along the way. And tonight it finds itself here at Southend Cliffs.’ This current iteration is now six months into their current 38-week UK and Ireland tour. (For more information about The Choir of Man tour click here.)
First thing to comment on is that these nine actor-musicians are the latest in a lengthening line of extremely hard-working ensembles that has passed through Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion in recent years. Not only do they shift what minimal stage furniture there is – Oli Townsend’s throwback setting for The Jungle pub is a wonder to behold – but, as mentioned above, they play all the music live in support of their singing and dancing. Instruments range (with others) from a penny whistle, trumpet, accordion to ukelele, banjo, guitar and anything they can bang a rhythm out of, as well as a piano. There is no story as such and all we get is a stream of conscientiousness from Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi’s engaging ‘Poet’ who introduces the characters we meet with a brief ‘pen portrait’ of each of them. They respond under their real names but are now archetypical of those amongst a group of friends you might find gathering in any pub, such as the ‘Romantic’, the ‘Joker’, the ‘Handyman’ and the ‘Bore’. During the show we get to know a little about them all, but perhaps not enough. One description will do for now and we learn how Maestro is ‘Gustav, our lanky Latvian Liberace. Gustav is an extraordinarily gifted classical pianist … he could go professional if it wasn’t for the fact he’s an extraordinarily gifted drinker’.
Later it turns more of an elegy to ‘The local pub’ and what is becoming increasingly something of a lost world, despite the opening song ‘Welcome to The Jungle’ and ‘Poet’ saying The Jungle is not gourmet burgers in brioche buns but ‘this is proper old school food, pork scratchings or nothing at all’. Sadly, it is the pork scratchings that are an endangered species these days! Heartwarming and deeply nostalgic it definitely is but all rather superficial as audience participation quickly takes over right from the start with everyone encouraged to whoop and holler and clap along even before a woman is brought up from the audience and serenaded – cheekily but harmlessly – by Rod Godfrey’s guitar-strumming ‘Beast’ with Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream’. Ticket holders are welcomed onto the stage before the show and during the interval for beer; beer is taken out into the audience during the show (‘The more you drink, the better we look’), with crisps and other snacks (I guess) thrown out to us in pantomime fashion. Audience interaction often descends into The Full Monty-territory … without going too far. Nevertheless, there is ‘Under the Bridge’ (Red Hot Chili Peppers) sung by three men urinating! It is completely harmless fun and great entertainment without leaving you feeling you have been at anything more than a superbly gifted boy band – of indeterminate age – concert.
The songs we hear are eclectic and guaranteed to get the audience foot-stamping, clapping and singing along and later to their feet from a mash-up of Eagle-Eye Cherry’s ‘Save Tonight’ and Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ onwards. There are a number of highlights including Niall Woodson’s incredible tap-dancing to Paul Simon’s ’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’. Some astonishing a cappella singing from them all in Adele’s ‘Hello’ and Sia’s ‘Chandelier’. The callout at one point was ‘Who is ready for a singalong?’, the answer clearly showed everyone at the Cliffs Pavilion was and the roof was nearly raised by an earthquake of community singing to the very recognisable ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ from The Proclaimers. The audience were whipped up into a further frenzy by bawling out – and I mean that in the best sense – ‘The Wild Rover’ (made famous by The Dubliners) and Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’ at the start of the second half.
But in the first half and then after the interval my thoughts wandered to the fact that The Choir of Man could have been so much more than what it actually is. Each character could have had their own monologue and followed it by an appropriate song. Opportunities for this were missed especially when Lewis Dragisic’s ‘Bore’ sang a wonderful rendition of ‘The Impossible Dream’ (from the musical The Man of La Mancha) and when ‘Poet’ – having not long before reflected on his upbringing in Nigeria – sang a very poignant ‘Dance with My Father’ (Luther Vandross). But The Choir of Man has evolved just to be simply high-spirited fun …and indeed much fun was had by all.
Local singers are involved in these The Choir of Man shows whilst on tour and on this occasion it was 282 members of the charity fundraising Buskerteers Choir who were spaced around the Cliffs Pavilion and reprised – in almost haunting fashion – Sia’s ‘Chandelier’ we heard earlier.
There had been so much to enjoy and perhaps there is something to just sitting back and being entertained and not having to think too hard. One line of the traditional Scottish song which ended The Choir of Man – with more astonishing a cappella singing – sums up the evening perfectly ‘So fill me to the parting glass – goodnight, and joy be with you all.’
Jim Pritchard
Featured Image: The Choir of Man 2026 touring cast © Mark Senior
Cast:
Maestro – Gustav Melbardis
Poet – Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi
Hard Man – Levi Tyrell Johnson
Joker – Ben Mabberley
Beast – Rob Godfrey
Handyman – Niall Woodson
Barman – Joshua Lloyd
Romantic – Sam Walter
Bore – Lewis Dragisic
Creatives:
Creators – Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay
Director – Nic Doodson
Music supervisor, Vocal arranger and Orchestrator – Jack Blume
Movement Director and Choreographer – Freddie Huddleston
Monologues writer – Ben Norris
Scenic designer – Oli Townsend
Costume designer & Co-Scenic designer – Verity Sadler
Lighting designer – Richard Dinnen
Sound designer – Liam McDermott
Original Sound designer – Sten Severson
Associate Director – Daniel Harnett
Musical director – Ehsaan Shivarani
Associate Musical supervisor – Alistair Higgins
Associate Lighting designer – Jack Ryan