Book by Shaun Kitchener

Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh

Review by Dominic Corr

The Playhouse

Here & Now, the official Steps musical, bursts into The Edinburgh Playhouse with a high‑octane blend of 90s nostalgia, supermarket melodrama, and glitter‑laden choreography. Set in the seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, the musical follows Caz, whose well‑ordered life begins to wobble as romantic certainty and workplace stability unravel. With a book by Shaun Kitchener and direction from Rachel Kavanaugh, the production embraces its own theatrical absurdity, shaping a world where heartache and heartbreak collide with neon rhythms and packaged pop euphoria.

What defines the show most clearly is style—the creative team uses colour, movement, and pop familiarity to build a visually exuberant environment, seen in Tom Rogers’ set which transforms the store into an adaptable performance space, complete with aisles that slide seamlessly into dance platforms and breakroom backdrops that pulse with the show’s upbeat momentum. Lighting design amplifies this tonal brightness, reinforcing the musical’s fizzy pop‑theatre identity.

Choreography from Matt Cole carries an unmistakable homage to Steps’ legacy. Signature hand‑heart shapes, side‑steps, and synchronised formations find their way into full ensemble numbers, merging affectionate reference with new staging. Numbers such as 5,6,7,8, Stomp, and Last Thing on My Mind are re‑born as theatrical set‑pieces that lean heavily into camp spectacle. Even with its relentless pace, Cole’s work remains clean and tightly structured, reinforcing the production’s spirit of cheerful exaggeration.

Casting proves to be one of Here & Now: The Steps Musical’s greatest assets, and the principal company throw themselves into the material with a gusto that elevates even the show’s more chaotic narrative turns. Lara Denning, as Caz, delivers a performance that feels both lived‑in and quietly commanding; her vocals are consistently the shows strongest asset, full of power and clarity, and she threads humour through heartbreak with an ease that anchors the entire production. Similarly, Jacqui Dubois brings a brittle, clipped precision to Patricia, leaning into the character’s sharper edges without losing sight of her humanity. Blake Patrick Anderson’s Robbie radiates warmth and comic instinct—reviews repeatedly highlight his likeability and the emotional sincerity beneath the camp exterior. A crowd-favourite, River Medway, as Jem, injects the show with irreverent sparkle, their drag‑inflected flamboyance never tipping into caricature but instead offering a buoyant, self‑aware energy that matches the musical’s tone.

Yet amidst all this shine, the narrative architecture shows strain. The musical barrels through its plot twists with the same rapid‑fire energy as its megamix finale, stacking revelations without allowing emotional beats to settle. This creates a choppiness that disrupts pacing, particularly when scenes shift abruptly from comic farce to genuine crisis. The story’s unpredictability is part of its charm, but its quick pivots risk undercutting the character depth it gestures toward.

Here & Now succeeds as a glossy slice of pop escapism. Its strength lies in its unapologetic embrace of joy, buoyed by a cast who fully inhabit the show’s heightened emotional landscape. The production revels in its own theatricality, offering brightly packaged entertainment even when the stitching between scenes loosens – reflecting its blend of exuberance and imbalance: a vibrant, dance‑driven spectacle that triumphs in style and humour, even as its storytelling stutters under the weight of its own momentum.

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