The basis of Forever Plaid is so absurdly simple yet incredibly strange that I wouldn’t be surprised if the idea was generated in a primary school classroom. It follows The Plaids, an all male harmony group who are back to give a performance to remember – back, that is, from the dead. Yes, the idea here is that the young group was hit by a bus before a concert they never had the chance to give, and have returned tonight in order to sing to their biggest crowd ever. All this was explained during the first few minutes by an absent voiceover and left me feeling rather dubious about the quality of events to come.

However, once the show was underway my worries were put somewhat at ease. Clear from the off was the impeccable quality of Forever Plaid’s cast. Vocally tight with choreography to match, there was not a weak link in sight or a bow tie out of place. It’s quite hard to pinpoint which cast members stood out most as they all worked so effectively together – almost as if they were a single person. Jon Lee’s solo during ‘Cry’ was very impressive, and special recognition must go to Matthew Quinn for both playing the double bass whilst still being involved in choreography. Luke Striffler and Keith Jack were equally charming as cheeky as Frankie and Sparky and were guaranteed to leave the audience with smiles on their faces whenever they came on stage – and off stage, in fact, as I was asked before we headed into the second act by Frankie if I was enjoying the show. My answer? Yes, on the whole, I suppose I was enjoying myself.

Forever Plaid’s songs all fall into the 1950s close harmony genre. Initially I feared that this would become slightly boring after half an hour or so, but in fact the show’s production meant that each song had something to keep you interested. This ranged from dance routines involving toilet plungers in the place of microphones during ‘Crazy ‘Bout Ya Baby’, to more simple, stripped back numbers and even to my greatest fear of all – audience participation.

Luckily my stern-faced reviewer vibes meant I wasn’t chosen to become involved – unlike the unsuspecting Sabrina in the back row who had probably expected a more relaxing night than being taken up on stage to become involved with The Plaids dance routine. The closest I came to involvement was during ‘Caribbean Plaid’ where audience singing was forcibly encouraged. As a lonely 17 year old in the front row this was deeply traumatic, but I would imagine as an older attendee who had made a few trips to the bar (conveniently located right inside the theatre), it would probably have been a much more enjoyable affair.

Forever Plaid might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you look past the cheese and slightly odd plot, it’s impossible not to sit there with a smile on your face.

 

Forever Plaid is playing the St. James Theatre until 24 April. For more information and tickets, see the St James’ Theatre website.