Spend Spend Spend – Royal Exchange

Viv Nicholson is a pretty obscure name in British popular culture nowadays, perhaps the odd fan of 80’s indie darlings The Smiths would recognise her as the brassy blonde staring out aggressively from the front cover of ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’,  her real claim to fame having been gradually consigned to the dustbin of history. However, back in 1964, when she and her husband Keith won £152,319 (the equivalent of £4.3 million today) on the football pools, she could reasonable lay claim to have been as famous in the UK as The Beatles or Harold Wilson. 

This festive season, The Royal Exchange have mounted a joyous revival of ‘Spend Spend Spend’ the 1998 musical by the late Steve Brown and Justin Greene, exploring Viv’s rise, fall and redemption, and in a cracking return to form for this venerable theatre this show will give Manchester audiences a funny and heartfelt alternative to the usual Christmas pantomimes on offer.

We encounter Viv (Rachel Leskovac) in her later years working as beautician, pitied and patronised by her customers as the woman who had it all and blew the lot. The theatre is a cacophony of silver in a Set Design by Grace Smart, a mirrored disc as the stage with a huge tinsel chandelier suspended above, the ostensible glitz of the scene giving an appropriately gaudy backdrop to the story unfolding before us. Director Josh Seymour allows Leskovac to be onstage throughout the entirety of the show, utilising the structure of a memory play to sketch the story of Viv’s life from her perspective.

She witnesses her young self (Rose Galbraith) growing up in a household where poverty and physical abuse were the norm, escaping through the cinema and discovery of boys (Sexual Happening) before the inevitable teen pregnancy and early doomed marriage to  Matt (George Crawford), the first boy to show her any affection. These early vignettes of Viv’s life are played out with both salty humour and sentimental affection, the grim nature of her early life obviated by the superb musicality of the show, poking fun at Yorkshire machismo one moment (I’ll Take Care Of Thee), before paying stirring homage to working class culture the next (John Collier).

The plot moves towards the interval and the depiction of “The Win” was an inspired piece of choreography, featuring two of the ensemble dressed as footballers depicting the goals whilst the cavorting round the kitchen, as Viv and Keith slowly realise they have hit the jackpot. The inevitable fall follows in the second act, with death, bankruptcy and heartache dogging Viv throughout her life. We witness her move to suburbia (Garforth), disastrous holidays (Drinking in America) and multiple marriages (A Brand New Husband) all through her reflective lens before we end, as we began, in the salon.

Steve Brown’s songs are the beating heart of this production, lyrically quintessentially Yorkshire they twist around the plot in manner reminiscent of Sondheim, moving the story forward and always with a wryly Northern slant. Both Leskovac and Galbraith are superb in the titular role of Viv, combining to demonstrate how her vivacious early nature was never fully crushed despite life’s vicissitudes, her persona growing to the reflective woman we find at the conclusion. Their lead is backed by an excellent ensemble cast  inhabiting a multitude of characters and whether it be Alfie Parker as The Bank Manager or Lejaun Shepard as Johnnie Love, each was deliciously drawn.

By the conclusion, Viv’s story feels uplifting rather than depressing, her reflections that ‘it’s about the things you can’t buy’ summing up her optimistic world view. This is a perfect production for an adult audience seeking something funny and heartfelt this festive season,

Verdict: Spend Spend Spend your money on a ticket for this show and you’re guaranteed a jackpot!!

Playing until 11th January 2025, https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/

Reviewer: Paul Wilcox

Reviewed: 28th November 2024

North West End UK Rating: