REVIEW: WHO PUT THE BOMP? by Keith Strachan at the Tabard Theatre 14 October - 7 November 2026
‘a night of pure distilled joy ’ ★★★★★
PG Wodehouse, who knew a thing or six about musical theatre, once wrote that there are two ways of writing novels – going right down deep without caring a damn or producing a sort of musical comedy without music. Keith Strachan’s new show very much takes the latter route to providing a night of pure distilled joy – but with a whole lot of music thrown in. Who Put the Bomp is a hit from its opening moment as five kids and their inspirational teacher get together to, in ancient Hollywood style, put on a show as a capella singing group the Doo-Woppers.
It’s a compilation musical with the songs all popular favourites from the doo-wop era (Why Do Fools Fall In Love, Shout and loads more), so the songs sit outside the story rather than telling it (a moving version of Roy Orbison’s ‘Crying’ being a rare exception). One hit follows another for most of the show’s two-hour running time, and are so infectious and perfectly performed that it’s hard to imagine the grumpiest curmudgeon not tapping a toe on the staircase down from the auditorium at the end.
But this is a quality cut above some average jukebox musicals in that care has been taken with the book, giving broadly sketched but distinct and believable storylines to all six characters within an overarching plot of a group rising from street corner singing to Brits awards stardom. The script is necessarily brisk and efficient, but it is also very funny – any show that can get repeated and rising laughs out of its own stage directions has a great writer.
There’s also a high-quality cast of performers it’s hard to believe are largely professional newcomers. All six have individual high spots but they also act seamlessly as a team in a textbook display of ensemble performance and generosity. The sheer comfort Billy Michael and Joy Silweya show on the second night of their first professional engagement is a compliment both to their considerable stage talents and voices and to director Strachan and musical director Marissa Landy (also performing, hilariously, as the enthusiastic teacher, Miss McTavish). Perhaps the comic highlight of the evening finds Silweya pursuing an increasingly nervous Michael across the stage as she sweetly tries to let him know she’s keen on him.
Joshua Webster’s choreography is unobtrusively smooth, complementing a set design that is also quietly perfect – back-wall projection giving us streets, the schoolroom, a bar. Aidan Spicer brings laughs and pathos to an apparently over-confident boy whose vulnerability gradually emerges, and Finn Williams is Fonzie cool as the boy with the bass voice deeper than the ocean.
A grinch might note there’s nothing very profound about all of this, but theatre ought sometimes to be about nothing more than sheer pleasure. And there’s plenty of profundity to be found in writing, direction and performance this good.
Take Note Ltd for the Tabard Theatre presents:
WHO PUT THE BOMP? by Keith Strachan at the Tabard Theatre 14 October to 7 November 2026.
Box Office: https://www.tabard.org.uk
Cast
Billy Michael | Billy
Joy Silweya | Summer
Joshua Webster | Cole
Aidan Spicer | Danny
Finn Williams | Jack
Marissa Landy | Miss McTavish
Creative Team
Keith Strachan | Writer and Director
Anne-Marie Lewis Thomas | Musical Supervisor
Callum Bruce | Lighting Designer
Faith Powlett | Costume Designer
Charlie Stace | Sound and Projection Programmer
Rob Miles and Pat McMahon | Set Construction
Marissa Landy | Musical Director
Joshua Webster | Dance Captain
Melody Lo | Stage Manager
Simon and Sarah Reilly | Producers
Photography credit: Hunter Collins Photography
Reviewer David Weir writes The Westminster Mysteries novel series, including The Honourable Member for Murder and Motion for Murder. Plays include Confessional (Oran Mor, Glasgow), Murdering the Truth (Greenwich Theatre, London) and Better Together (Jack Studio, Brockley, London).
