‘A Sunny Afternoon’ hits up the stage at the palace for a limited time giving us an inside-look and celebratory experience of one of Britain’s most successful bands: The Kinks.
If you don’t know about the Kinks, which I wasn’t overly clued up on – then you wouldn’t really know what you were walking in to, but this production really shined a light on the music and story behind the band and can really show you what life was like in the heyday of The Kinks.
One thing worth noting, is the cast is not a big one. However, with the amount of demand on each performer you would have thought it was more with the constant energy being thrown from that stage. The whole thing was a joy to watch, so fun and vibrant – and if you aren’t a kinks fan, you absolutely will be after watching this masterpiece. Before I comment on performances – I will give a hat tip to the staging. So easy and expertly done with only the one set and limitation on props the musical instruments and everything else, very nicely done.
On to the performers and for me, special mentions today belong to Danny Horn, playing Ray Davies. Horn was able to embody a troubled musician with so many big ideas but was able to portray a level of exhaustion and determination too which I absolutely loved seeing. This was very well matched by Oliver Hoare, playing Ray’s younger brother, Dave. It is very easy to go one way with a story like this. A teenager thrown into the world of Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll, but there were levels to the performance Hoare gave and it complimented the entire show.
I could go into more individuals, but I really need to express the love for the original music numbers. Sunny Afternoon, Lola and You really got me. Those for me were up there with some of the best music I’ve seen on a pro stage – and the audience’s reaction leads me to think they were exactly the same! The whole audience were on their feet singing along with Lola at the end and you couldn’t help but smile. It made you feel, in a very little way, like you were part of ‘The Kinks’ story – unbelievable.
The Show is only on until the 18th so be quick to make sure you don’t miss out on this iconic piece of British music history
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/sunny-afternoon/palace-theatre-manchester/
