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Take That leader and all-round national treasure (if you can look past the tax stuff) Gary Barlow is no stranger to theatre, having written two musicals – ‘Finding Neverland’ and ‘Calendar Girls’ – and contributed, alongside the rest of Take That, to ‘The Band’. The latter two shows were co-written with Tim Firth, who has teamed up with Barlow again for ‘A Different Stage’, a theatrical solo show that’ll play a stint in the West End this summer. It’ll combine songs from the length and breadth of Barlow’s career (pre-reformation Take That, post-reformation Take That, a bit of solo stuff) with a few judicious covers, plus Barlow himself chatting away at length about his life and times.
Directed by Firth and designed by the great Es Devlin, it’s basically a posh ‘evening with’ that’ll delight fans of Barlow’s music and no doubt induce rapture in those interested in getting to know the man a bit better. Certainly by Take That’s arena-traipsing standards, the 640-seat Duke of York’s Theatre represents a very rare chance to get up close and personal with the Cheshire pop titan.
Gary Barlow: ‘A Different Stage’ is at the Duke of York’s Theatre, Aug 30-Sep 18. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Wed Mar 23 from here.