Tonight’s excursions saw me heading over to Loughborough Town Hall to catch up with ESNA and their latest production. I have heard of and watched Bake Off on the TV and have seen it in musical form before as part of a “Showstoppers” improvised production but I never watched the actual Great British Bake Off musical and what a joy it was!!

From the very start of the show right through to the end I laughed, chuckled, empathised with and grinned at this absolute joy of a production. Nicola Dexter’s direction coupled with Josh Hill’s musical direction created a piece of theatre that had the audience invested from the very beginning. I am intrigued though as to where they hid the band!

The set  was spot on. It really did give the impression of being in the Bake Off tent and the clever usage of the kitchen stations helped to draw the audience into the craziness of a television set complete with camera man and sound boom operator. There were showstopping towers, slapped strudels and sneaky shenanigans all underpinned by a cast that clearly enjoyed working on this show. There were a couple of minor sound issues right at the start but this is first night and there will always be hiccups but these did not detract from the hilarity whatsoever and were very soon got back under control. The SMUG fridge in particular made me snigger on more than one occasion!

There are a LOT of props in this production and kudos must be given to Jenny Stuttle for pulling these all together. A shout out also needs to be given to choreographer Nicola Scoggins who managed to incorporate mixing bowls, whisks, flying dough and so much more into her routines!

Every single one of the principle characters was fabulous. Their vocal skills, their interactions, their ability to shift from the comedy into serious mode straight back into comedy was just on point and I think if any of them appeared stronger than any of the others it would have ruined the balance and ESNA should be proud of creating such a strong set of principle characters although a sneaky mention to Autumn for a stunning performance as 9 year old Lily. Watch this young lady – she has the ability to go far .

I do want to make another special mention as well for James Daw. James stepped in to understudy at the eleventh hour due to sudden illness for another principle cast member. Despite him needing a script he did brilliantly and, after a while, the audience didn’t notice that book in his hands.  I’m sending love to the ESNA family and hope their friend recovers quickly.

All in all another polished performance from ESNA and I am still grinning. The Great British Bake Off Musical runs at Loughborough Town Hall until Saturday 18th April and tickets can be bought here. You won’t regret it.

Tickets gifted for an honest review. Photo credit to Mike Hazeldine and Mark Corns