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Good fun, great songs, and interesting but cheesy

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This new tour of Sunny Afternoon celebrates the raw energy, passion and timeless sound of one of Britain’s most iconic bands, THE KINKS. Charting the euphoric highs and agonising lows, it tells their story through an incredible back catalogue of chart-toppers.  

The musicians and singers are all very good performers, and it’s always good to see them rocking out as well as performing some Kinks songs acapella (‘Days’) and showing off their harmonising skills. Danny Horn makes a very good Ray Davies throughout.

Admittedly, although I already liked their music, I didn’t know much about their background or history. Would I have found ‘Sunny Afternoon’ boring if I knew more? Would anyone who’s not a Kinks fan enjoy this? Does it even appeal to Kinks super fans, who presumably know all this stuff and might prefer to just listen to them at home?

I’m not sure, but for me at least, it was interesting to learn about where The Kinks came from, to place them in their historical context, and see how their working class status defined them in their interactions with the music industry and upper classes. I also liked how the play explored the impact of being in a band on the members and their families, especially Lisa Wright’s Rasa. Moments such as this might make ‘Sunny Afternoon’ appeal to people who aren’t already lovers of The Kinks.

The start of the piece left me cold, which didn’t make me hopeful. The continuous teasing of the ‘You Really Got Me’ riff and vocals meant that some of the impact was lost when they finally played it in the middle of the first half. Some moments, such as Ray Davies attacking his speaker cone, were stretched out for too long.

Once it got going I began to really enjoy it, especially the end of the first half and the start of the second, particularly when they were showing the tensions within the band. The moments of out-and-out spectacle were my favourite parts. Oliver Hoare looks great swinging from a chandelier in a dress and covered in lipstick. Watching the band members punch each other up was always exciting. The period costumes and sets were gorgeous throughout. I really liked the scene showing England winning the World Cup, with various actors coming down into the audience to celebrate, although this technique was overused throughout the piece. 

‘Sunny Afternoon’ is surprisingly funny, with several clever references to contemporary pop culture as well as some good comedy, both physical and verbal.

I thought the end was a little too cheesy, with everyone told to stand up, clap, and wave their arms in the air. That said, I did enjoy the final encore medley of hits built around ‘Lola,’ which I thought for a moment they weren’t going to include even though it’s on the poster. 

Overall, then, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ is a fun night out, an interesting depiction of life in 60s England with, of course, lots of great songs.