Here’s the truth. I reviewed The Harder They Come at Stratford East when it opened last autumn. It got an enthusiastic five stars. It deserved every one of them. Spoiler alert- it’s getting five stars again. The fact that I jumped at the chance to repeat the experience is another testament to this show’s joyful power. Jimmy Cliff died at the age of 81, last November, adding a certain poignancy to this welcome comeback. This musical is based on Perry Henzell’s seminal 1972 film The Harder They Come. While casting the movie, Henzell asked Jimmy Cliff, ‘Do you think you could write some music for the movie?’
‘What do you mean, do I think?’ replied Cliff. ‘I can do anything.’
Cliff’s swaggering confidence not only won him the lead role of Ivan, but he also wrote much of the legendary soundtrack. Bad boy braggadocio is the calling card of the story’s main character, played in this production by a spellbinding Natey Jones who returns to the lead role. Not only does Jones bring the vocals, he grabs the audience with nuclear charm and a nuanced performance.
Ivan is a proud, wilful and ambitious ‘country bwoy’ who finds himself on the tough streets of Kingston. Despite considerable talent, the wannabe singer is broke, mocked and exploited. The church, music industry, legal system AND the marijuana business are all equally corrupt in Ivan’s eyes and experience. Every grim injustice and tiny win is given a physicality by Jones. He somehow infuses his limbs with boyish vulnerability and a cowboy’s confidence AT THE SAME TIME. When jones sings The Harder They Come for the first time, in a Kingston recording studio, his body seems in conflict with itself until he succumbs to revolutionary spirit of the song. It’s utterly compelling and hard not to be moved.
Jones knocks it out the park, but he’s in good company. It’s a dazzlingly talented cast, who all appear to be having the time of their lives. The committed and passionate energy of this ensemble isn’t just fun to behold; it’s like medicine for a careworn heart. Seriously. If there is a drug that can sustain this level of infectious enjoyment for close to three hours, I’ve yet to try it. It’s a credit to the show’s spirit that even though our hero gets shot to death by the police in the final scene, leaving a trail of destruction and grief, the audience skips out the theatre grinning and shimmying.
The cheering vibes of this show owe a huge debt to Suzan-Lori Parks who’s update of the script gives Madeline Charlemagne much more to play with as Ivan’s girlfriend Elsa. In the movie version, she’s inexplicably devoted, despite Ivan’s disrespect and chaos. Parks has dialled down the toxic co-dependence and turned up the Caribbean Romeo and Juliet. The chemistry between the leads is so electric that when they enjoy their first stolen kiss in a church, the theatre fell dead silent, before a wag in the audience shouted, ‘One more time!’ It brought the house down.
In a spectacular scene preceding their hot snog, a bible-bashing gospel service morphs into a winding, grinding ragga fuelled dancefloor scene. The choir shrug off holy white cassocks and drop into the filthiest dance scene to be seen on a London stage. It’s blush inducing business and for a brief moment, nods to the current Jamaican sounds that dominate today’s pop landscape.
Matthew Xias direction is tight and brilliantly paced, serving a second half which keeps cranking up the action while pulling at the heart strings. Rachel John plays Ivan’s mother Daisy and almost steals the show when she breaks into Many Rivers to Cross as a maternal lament at the funeral of the policeman shot dead by her son. John takes us to church, and the audience went wild for it. Shelley Maxwell’s choreography is flawless, authentic and very entertaining. The cast deliver every pop, slide and groove with slick precision; while making it seem like a spontaneous party. It feels like every creative involved this project gave their best work, while at the top of their game. It’s possibly the best musical I’ve seen AND I’d go a third time in a heartbeat.
The Harder They Come is at Stratford East until 4th July 2026.
Reviewer: Stewart Who?
Reviewed: 22nd May 2026
North West End UK Rating: