Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical School of Rock, known for its catchy songs and talented child performers, is currently on tour in the UK. I was lucky enough to win tickets to see it for myself at The New Wimbledon Theatre, and it was certainly a night to remember.

 

School of Rock, originally a movie starring Jack Black, was adapted into a musical in 2016 by renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. It tells the story of an overly enthusiastic guitarist, Dewey Finn (played by Jake Sharp), who is in desperate need of a job after getting kicked out of his amateur rock band. In order to pay his rent, Dewey takes his roommate Ned’s job as a substitute teacher at an elite preparatory school. After finding out the children he is ‘teaching’ can play musical instruments, he begins exposing them  to hard-core rock music with the hope of forming a band.

 

What stood out about the musical was the talented children on stage. Ranging from 9 to 13 years old, all the kids with musical instruments were actually playing them live. They also had beautiful yet strong voices that were particularly impressive, given how young they were. There are three different casts of children in the production, and in the performance I saw, stand outs were vocalist Souparnika Nair, playing Tomika, a shy girl who surprises everyone with her stunning vocals; and William Laborde playing Zack, an aspiring guitarist.

 

I had seen the original 2016 production of this musical in London's West End, and while this version was enjoyable, it felt less vibrant than the original, with some of the jokes feeling somewhat tired. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the show, and it was great to see young musicians rocking out and clearly having a good time.

 

Overall, School of Rock is a solid, enjoyable musical that is fun to watch and a great night out for the whole family. Go and see it if you get the chance: https://uktour.schoolofrockthemusical.com/tour-dates/