Mod: the subculture that overtook Britain in the early 60’s, and the subject of All Or Nothing. It tells the story of the band ‘Small Faces’ and their rise to fame. It sends you back to relive a simpler time and it is very nostalgic.
The production excels in its costumes and set are great and really true to the era. The style and quality of the choreography is a particularly enjoyable aspect too, as it is so telling of the time. The costumes especially backs this up and it is evident that this is where the focus has been put in this show – other key aspects such the sound are disappointing. The microphones are not loud enough and they are outdated in terms of quality. It could argue that the old-fashioned mics used, are to reminisce about the time the show is set in, but if that is the case it is sad to sacrifice the music for that.
Samuel Pope portrays Steve Mariott fantastically. He fully captures the essence of a young mod, full of life and maybe a little too cocky. It’s evident as the show goes on, that Steve’s large personality had a huge impact on both the uprise and demise of ‘Small Faces’ and Pope really does the character justice, with his high energy and perfectly embodiment of mod. Older Steve, Chris Simmons, looks, speaks and acts like Mariott, making the transition seamless.
Unfortunately some of the other cast members are disappointing, unfortunately a lot of the performances aren’t what’s expected from a production which has recently transferred to the West End.
If you’re familiar with Small Faces in particular, this is definitely a lot of fun. There are plenty of jokes for Englishmen over the age of 50 to laugh at and actually understand, but the younger audience might struggle a bit with most of the references. Its a real journey down memory lane and even if you’re just a massive fan of all things mod, then you would probably really enjoy ‘All or Nothing – The Mod Musical’. Singing along is also very definitely encouraged.
