Scouts! The Musical – Hope Mill Theatre

Scouts! The Musical returns to the beautiful Hope Mill Theatre in the heart of Ancoats, after its huge successful tour in 2023 its back even bigger and better!

Scouts! The Musical is the creation of Sam Cochrane and David Fallon of Gigglemug Theatre in partnership with The Scouts. Sam Cochrane wrote the book and lyrics, directed the show, and provides the musical direction. David Fallon provided the music and lyrics, Rob Gathercole serves as the musical director all creating a magnificent family musical for all ages.

Gigglemug was established in 2018 by a group of Warwick university students, and as a company their aim is to create entertainment which will leave audiences grinning for the rest of the day! Their goal has certainly been achieved with this wonderful creation of Scouts! The Musical, as the whole auditorium left grinning and joyous on the opening night at Hope Mill Theatre.

The plot is based around the annual Scout games, Scouts from around the world come together to compete for the ultimate golden badge. The Characters are Eliza (Eleanor Fransch) a competitive young lady who comes initially to win, Joe (Burhan Kathawala) a quiet underconfident boy who comes alive in the scout group when he feels accepted, Scout Leader Dylan (Kemi Clarke), Rosie (Katie Pritchard) a fun-loving high-energy Scout, Charlotte (Emily Kitchingham) a rogue amongst the crew, Luke/Linus Lionheart (Rob Gathercole) a dual character and Narrator (Heather Gourdie). The Scout games centre around showcasing their skills and camaraderie whilst upholding the Scout values and the importance of friendship, teamwork and helping others, but there is a saboteur in the midst with a grievance which challenges the whole group!

The Musical has an array of fabulous songs in the production which were all sang pitch perfect by the cast, with great messages in the lyrics about friendship and companionship as a Scout – with songs such as Into the Wild, Skills for Life and Home. There is plenty of audience participation making it a family friendly interactive production. The audience was filled with actual Scouts and Scout Leaders making it extra special for the groups as they happily joined in with the fun, from participating in the games/heats and singing along with ‘The Trance Dance’ (if you know you know) all ending with a water gun spraying the audience.

Katie Pritchard brought high energy and so much fun to her role making the evening extremely joyful, whilst Eleanor Fransch bought the most exquisite vocals to the production, her voice was not only powerful but so versatile and captivating – I would have paid just to hear this lady sing for the evening. The whole cast put everything they had into their performances and the talent was just breathtaking as they all played live instruments throughout the performance whilst delivering their lines and singing.

I can’t recommend this show enough as it has the most wonderful feel-good factor with the warmth and comfort of a big hug of love. We left feeling cheerful and happy with a fussy glow of endearment towards mankind.

The show is 90 minutes long with the first act being 50 minutes and the second 40 minutes, which is ideal for younger members of the audience and is the correct amount of time to keep their attention, the show is suitable for 6 years and over.

Scouts! The Musical show runs at Hope Mill Theatre until the 15^th June 2025, tickets can be purchased at hopemilltheatre.co.uk and Scouts get discounted tickets https://linkr.ee/ScoutsTheMusical

Reviewer: Katie Leicester

Reviewed: 10^th June 2025

North West End Star Rating: