By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN?: Tuesday 27 February and runs through 16 March 2024 RUNTIME: 145 minutes (with a 20 minute interval) UPDATE: This production transfers to Southwark Playhouse (Elephant) 6 September through 10 October 2024 Tickets

You join us on 4 October 1936 in the East End’s Cable Street where its community of socialists, communists, Jews and Irish people refuse to let Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF) pass.

• Read on for reasons including how to get tickets for this sold-out run

This new British musical’s best song is the Act 1 closer No Pasaran – Spanish for they shall not pass – and we can’t help but think of the classic Les Miserables as the Cable Street residents take to the barricades to oppose fascism evoking memories of the Spanish Civil War of the time.

There couldn’t be a more apt time in London than now for a story about protest, marches and disparate communities coming together to oppose the forces of evil.

We’re also reminded of musical Blood Brothers by this story of 2 young men trying to find work with 1, Joshua Ginsberg’s Sammy Scheinberg becoming a printer, and another, Danny Colligan’s gruff northerner Ron Williams finding an easier path with the BUF.

There’s a wild array of musical styles at play here to illustrate the diversity of the different communities that can choose to come together in opposition to fight fascism and we particularly enjoyed Ginsberg’s Eminem-style rapping which reminded us of classic musical Hamilton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGbTnGRjuEE

Jez Unwin shines in a predominantly youthful cast and his BUF number reminded of Operation Mincemeat which deals with Nazis more sharply in a hilarious Little Mix-style spoof.

Debbie Chazen (3Women, Trafalgar Studios 2) is strong as mother Kathleen Kenny and her daughter Mairaid played by Sha Dessi is at the emotional heart of much of the action.

Songs Read All About It punctuate much of the drama and show the role a responsible – and irresponsible – media can play in influencing the politics governing the lives of those who digest them.

If we had a criticism, it is that at times the material is over-earnest and that we’d hoped for a little more from Tim Gilvin who co-wrote Unfortunate, which played recently at Southwark Playhouse’s new Elephant and Castle site.

As we write, tickets for all remaining performances of this fine new musical with its bold heart in the right place are sold out but returns are available via the venue’s website at noon on the day of performance.

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy Southwark Playhouse Tickets
• Have you seen a Southwark Playhouse show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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