There’s nothing like quite the magic of the musicals to brighten up a cold and grey Friday in February, and when the UK tour of Beyond the Barricade stopped off in New Brighton, it was set to be a fantastic evening.
The UK’s leading musical theatre concert tour, which has been running since 1999, is usually made up of Andy Reiss, Katie Leeming, Sarah Ryan and David Fawcett – but with David unwell, the group had called upon theatre legend Norman Bowman to step in.
As the name suggests, there is a strong Les Misérables theme to the show; all four group members, and Norman too, have played principal roles in the mind blowing musical based on Victor Hugo’s heart wrenching story. Beyond the Barricade opened with a Les Mis number, sung by the quartet, before diving into a world of both classic and modern musicals.
Shows of this style can often run the risk of getting stale by sticking with songs from the most well-known and long running musicals, but Beyond the Barricade did a great job of spicing things up with a mixture of hits from classics like Evita and Miss Saigon alongside tunes from newer musicals like Come From Away and Dear Evan Hansen. There was even a Hamilton medley in there!
When it comes to talent, it was clear to see how much of it there was on that stage – the audience were in awe of the deep operatic tones of Sarah Ryan, soft high notes from Katie Leeming, all-round incredible vocals by Norman Bowman and both the talent and easy humour of Andy Reiss.
Highlights from the night included Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) from Jesus Christ Superstar, expertly performed by Andy, as well as his hilarious performance as the ‘Master of the House’ from Les Mis. The Blood Brothers portion of the evening, primarily performed by Katie and Norman, went down a storm in this Liverpool-adjacent town, as did Sarah Ryan’s simply magnificent rendition of Carousel’s You’ll Never Walk Alone.
The show does fall victim to the use of a projector, which takes away from the glamour and elegance of the evening and the set with themed imagery – it would be even more magical without it, but overall the talent and the wonderful set list make this a fantastic show that you should definitely aim to catch on tour if it’s stopping near you.
Upcoming tour dates/ticket links: https://www.beyondthebarricade.com/tourdates
Reviewer: Katy Gilroy
Reviewed: 7th February 2025
North West End UK Rating:
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