The great thing about this production was that it was not just a musical, but a whole music medley of songs; ranging from Jesus Christ Superstar and Rent to some lesser known plays such as Wicked. Although Strictly New Wave does not boast a large cast and crew, they did put on a great show with only seven performers, but with big voices! The night kicked off with all of the performers on stage singing a Capella to Seasons of Love taken from Rent. The voices were brought to life because the simplicity of the stage, where there was a sole piano, was so effective. The following segment of the show drew upon the West End smash hit Jesus Christ Superstar. Performer Yildiz Hussein certainly proved she had the power and conviction to pull off the number I Don’t Know How to Love Him, but the duet which preceded it let this down, as it came across rather static and isolated. | "Strictly New Wave was a definite must see for all you musical lovers out there, with its showcasing of the old, the new, and the soon to be musicals." | | Joanna Gordon |
Moving from Rent to Tick Tick Boom, we get to the Leading Ladies section of the show, which was my personal favourite. It is in this very section that the audience is first introduced to the very glamorous Ceri Dupree (currently starring in the Haymarket’s Hot Stuff – The Christmas Edition), who certainly makes an entrance, dressed in decadent sequins and dripping in marabou. To the hilarity of everyone in the audience it soon becomes clear that Ceri is, yes... a drag queen! Just when you thought the show was varied enough, a drag queen gets thrown into the equation. Ceri's performances of Hello Dolly and Marlene (Diedrich) certainly gave a whole new dimension to the show. To top it all off, Ceri did a hilarious portrayal of Hollywood's Joan Collins in an interview type set on stage, which was fuelled with endless sex jokes and had the audience in a fit of giggles. After some light relief, the show then swings back to the more serious musical numbers, including the powerful and soulful rendition of Big and Blonde from the Broadway hit Hairspray, sung by the big voice of Wendy Mae Brown, blowing everyone away. However, I found the constant interruptions from the director throughout the course of the show quite tedious. This prevented an organic flow to the show, and failed to let the music speak for itself, which is indeed the ultimate aim of the show. Nevertheless Strictly New Wave was a definite must see for all you musical lovers out there, with its showcasing of the old, the new, and the soon to be musicals of our time. | 
