John McGrath called for a theatre that gave people “a good night out”. The Choir of Man delivers just that — with added harmonies and a very decent pint.Rating
Excellent
Few West End shows make you feel like you’ve stumbled into the best pub in Britain, but The Choir of Man does exactly that. Now in its fourth year in London, the show has grown from a modest Fringe experiment into one of the West End’s most infectiously good nights out.
The premise is gloriously simple: nine men gather in a pub, sing their hearts out, pour pints for the audience, and share stories about friendship, identity, and belonging. The setting (‘The Jungle’) is beautifully realised – all scuffed wood, worn stools and working beer taps – and before the show even begins, audience members can head up on stage to get themselves a pint from the bar. It’s a lovely touch that adds to the atmosphere: we’re all drinking from the same pub. And in a theatre as compact as the Arts Theatre, it feels less like a West End musical and more like a big, cosy singalong at your local.
As nights out go, this one’s a riot. The musicianship is genuinely superb, from a cappella harmonies to the four-piece band that keeps the place humming. Jack Blume’s vocal arrangements lift familiar hits – Adele’s ‘Hello’, Queen’s ‘Somebody to Love’, The Proclaimers’ ‘500 Miles’ – into something fresh and emotionally charged. Standouts include Ben Goffe’s tap-dancing, trumpet-playing turn as the Handyman, and Paul McArthur’s moving ‘Dance With My Father’, which stills the room in a show otherwise brimming with noise and laughter.
That said, there’s a little too much talk between the songs. The Poet (McArthur again) narrates the evening with a series of rhyming monologues about community and the decline of the local pub. It’s a lovely sentiment, but the writing occasionally lapses into sentimentality, spelling out what the music already captures more deftly. When the lads simply sing – or pull someone up for a free pint – the show is at its best.
There’s a hint here of John McGrath’s A Good Night Out: theatre as an act of collective joy rather than intellectual exercise. The Choir of Man doesn’t ask you to sit still and observe; it invites you to join in, to laugh, sing, and clink glasses. It’s populist theatre in the truest, most generous sense: rooted in the everyday, yet reaching for something bigger: connection.
A moment of toilet humour in a urinal-based number may divide opinion (personally, I found it quite hilarious), but it’s hard to resist the production’s energy. It’s loose, generous, and gloriously unpretentious. A gig disguised as musical theatre, or perhaps the other way round. You’ll leave feeling lighter, happier, and probably a bit thirstier.
Beneath the boisterous atmosphere lies a genuine message about male friendship and mental health, handled with just enough care to land. For all its occasional clunkiness, The Choir of Man ultimately celebrates something simple and vital: the joy of community, the power of music, and the importance of a good night out.
Created by Nic Doodson & Andrew Kay
Directed by Nic Doodson
Music Supervisor and Vocal Arrangement by Jack Blume
Movement direction by: Freddie Huddleston
Set Design by Oli Townsend
Costumes by Verity Sadler
The Choir of Man runs at the Arts Theatre until Sunday 4 January, before heading out on a UK tour.
