A Jukebox Musical That Makes Sense: Just For One Day, The Live Aid Musical Review

Jukebox musicals remain an infuriatingly confusing topic for me as I find the idea of them marketable, fun and usually in line with musical theatre’s campy reputation. However, I also maintain that they seem to be incredibly easy to get wrong. Moulin Rouge! took one of my favourite films and added some questionable songs like Chandelier and Firework to an otherwise inspired arrangement. I believe that Mamma Mia is able to largely avoid the famed Jukebox Discourse due to it only using ABBA songs, allowing the musical to follow one thread of style and storytelling, instead of relying on a huge multitude of artists, genres and decades. &Juliet fell into this trap and, whilst it had good intentions, ended up barely scratching the surface in terms of lyrical storytelling. And perhaps that is why Just For One Day’s musical decisions worked. 

Firstly, this is the first Jukebox musical I’ve seen that is heavily based on a true story and so the choice to use already well-known music helps to ground the story, aiding both the audience members that lived through the events and those that didn’t. And on that note, the story itself revolves entirely around music. Without music, this story doesn’t exist. So, when detailing the events that led up to the creation of Live Aid, the biggest music concert of all time, it only makes sense to perform the songs that would have been popular at the time, especially those that formed the setlist of said concert. Those songs are given typical musical theatre treatment with powerful belts, ensemble harmonies and an overall increase in energy and emotion, ensuring that new stories are written within these beloved tracks. 

The gritty, electric rock anthems are backlit by an industrial-yet-showbiz aesthetic of dozens of spotlights, exposed orchestra and an ensemble clad in 80’s grunge attire. In fact, the costuming in this show is genius. Each character shows off their own personal style, merging the detailed sub-genres of late 20th Century pop-culture. Much like the collaboration of multiple artists in the real Live Aid, the costumes each display details of iconic singers from Freddie Mercury to David Bowie, whilst still maintaining the belief that “no one here is an impressionist”. Even when performing a Queen song, dressed in a tank top and leather armband around the bicep, actor Freddie Love’s performance is distinctly a commemoration of powerful musicianship and therefore nothing in this show feels gimmicky or forced. Actor Jordan Cambridge-Taylor doesn’t have a ginger mullet because they ARE Bowie, they are simply a representation of Bowie’s music and how much the fans adore the singer’s values and songs. Again and again, the musical focuses on the people who are receiving the music and therefore puts heavy emphasis on the reasons why Band Aid and Live Aid came about: to help those who are experiencing the famine in Ethiopia.

This musical does not forget the bigger picture. Despite the colourful lights and pop-culture references, it continually recognises the famine in Ethiopia as a humanitarian crisis and horrific consequence of oppressive governing and politics and, in my opinion, the character of Alicia (played by Tamara Tare), a Red Cross nurse, is presented as the protagonist everyone should be fighting for. Bob Geldof, despite his determination and morality, is consistently presented as the anti-hero, personally shutting down any remark that paints him as a saviour. And whilst there may still be some narcissism involved in saying “I’m just doing what anyone would do”, the musical does its best to remind the audience of who is really the focus of the story. 

I found that the direction and acting handled the story with the perfect tonal balance of hopeful yet reflective. The stage is intimate and inviting, with the entire cast on stage for the majority, sat on tiered seating at the back, reflecting those on which the audience are seated themselves. The band players are invited centre stage multiple times and given their own standing ovation. Most numbers are underscored by the ensemble and lyrics are shared between characters, truly representing the idea of unity and the formation of a collective. One aspect that did confuse me, however, was the choice to have Jemma (played by Fayth Ifil), the present-day character who functions to listen to the story and move it along through her questions, sit out on the ensemble harmonies. She would literally sit at the side and just… watch. When she did sing, her voice was beautiful and I wish she had more opportunity to show it. All the cast are incredibly talented, from comedic performances from Julie Atherton (playing Margaret Thatcher. Yes, really.) and Tim Mahendran (as Harvey Goldsmith) to stand-out vocalists such as Eloise Davies and Freddie Love and beautifully nuanced and fully-formed depictions of Bob Geldof (Craige Els) and Midge Ure (George Ure). So far, one of the best musicals I’ve seen this year.