The Glee Club opened to an ovation from the audience April 22, indicating that the gamble on transferring from the little Bush to the West End — at the Duchess Theatre — may have paid off.
Set in the early 1960's, this tale of six miners who form an out-of-hours singing club — during which one of them is revealed to be gay and the victim of a blackmail plot — features several lively songs and a gritty Northern humor, along with a fair share of tragedy.
Starring David Bamber, the play was tremendously well received by the first-night audience, so much so that the actors came back onstage for an encore of one of the songs they performed during the show.
In a sense, given the period and the play itself (which features plenty of male nudity) The Glee Club could be described as a cross between The Full Monty and The York Realist.
—By Paul Webb Theatrenow
