New musical brings the music of Take That to the Southampton stage

For five 16-year-old friends in 1992, ‘the band’ is everything. 25 years on, we are reunited with the friends, now 40-something women, as they try once more to fulfil their dream of meeting their heroes.

Rachel Lumberg, whose most recent tours include This Is My Family, The Full Monty, Dandy Dick and Calendar Girls, is the friend who brings them all back together again.

Among the show’s producers are Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams – a little clue to the music that runs right through.

“But it is not a Take That musical,” Rachel is quick to point out. “It is very much not that. It is the story of these five girls growing up and how the band influences their lives.”

It’s also about the impact of bands on our lives – that feeling, as Rachel says, of hearing your favourite band’s new song and feeling the lyrics touch you directly, “thinking how could they possibly know that this is what is happening in my life.”

The show spans 25 years, from 1992 to the present day when Rachel brings the girls back together again after a quarter of a century: “It’s the story of how the girls have done over time and of something quite dramatic that has happened to them! I don’t want to give too much away!”

Tickets for The Band are on sale from Mayflower Theatre box office 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk.