What I Go To School For – The Busted Musical at the Theatre Royal Brighton Review
What I Go To School For
The Busted Musical
Theatre Royal, Brighton
18-20 August 2016
Reviewed by Louise Watts
Last night (Thursday 18 August 2016) I was lucky enough to see What I Go To School For – The Busted Musical with my 16-year-old daughter at the Theatre Royal in Brighton. This performance was put on by Youth Music Theatre UK. I will explain what it is about in more detail but before then I have to say… Wow!!! What an absolutely outstanding performance I had the pleasure of seeing tonight!
What I Go To School For – The Busted Musical was written in partnership by James Bourne (Busted) and Elliot Davis. The musical tells the story of how the pop band Busted were created, their rise to fame and the benefits and problems this brought with it. The story continues through the good times and explains the reasons why the band eventually split. It is very easy when pop bands are famous to see them as a product and it was highly emotionally charged to see some insight into what the boys’ lives were really like from a home perspective and the impact on them as a result of going from unknown to famous overnight with the success of their songs.
All the big Busted hits are in the show including That’s What I Go to School For, Air Hostess, Year 3000 and many more. The quality of the acting and singing was outstanding. The three lead roles played by Joseph Riley (James), Zak Robinson (Matt) and Roman Lewis (Charlie) demonstrated incredible talent and professionalism for such a young age. They should be extremely proud of their performances tonight.
The theatre itself was a pleasure to attend. We parked in the local NCP car park which offers an evening rate of £4.50 which I felt was quite reasonable for city centre parking. All the theatre staff we had dealings with were polite and the facilities were clean. One feature I particularly liked was a board near the entrance / exit where you could leave your thoughts and comments regarding the show. I have not seen this anywhere before and I thought it was a lovely idea.
In summary, this was an incredible performance by 40 young actors and musicians. The music was Busted at their best. Would I pay to see this again? Absolutely. Would I take my other children to the West End to see this? Absolutely!
I would happily rate this an outstanding 5/5 and can’t wait for it to be on in London so I can see it again!! Busted sang That’s What I Go To School For… well performances like tonight’s are what I go to the theatre for.
I must say it was an absolutely outstanding performance!
Tickets cost from £18.15 to £30.15 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).
What I Go To School For – The Busted Musical is at the Theatre Royal in Brighton until 20 August 2016. Fo rmore information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 7650.
Theatre Royal. New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1SD | 0844 871 7650