Spawned from the highly successful 2003 movie starring love-him-or-hate-him Jack Black, the School of Rock musical is on tour and premiering in Woking this week. Whether you have seen the film or not, it is a simple, heartwarming tale of self-realisation and fulfilment of individual potential, and as satisfying as any Cinderella story viewed from under a duvet on a rainy day.  British theatre royalty, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, obviously saw its potential by snapping up the stage rights in 2013 and with a book written by Julian Fellowes, and lyrics by Glenn Slater (adding in new theatrical Lloyd Webber numbers to those from the film), turned it into a global success, debuting on Broadway in 2015 and the West End in 2016.

Dewey Finn, a musician whose ego is greater than his talent, finds himself bandless and jobless after being ousted from the group he founded, No Vacancy. Broke and living with his downtrodden friend Ned Schneebly and righteous girlfriend Patti, Dewey takes a call for Ned about a job as a substitute teacher in a prestigious school, and impulsively impersonates him and takes the job to pay the rent. Reality hits when Dewey finds himself in front of a class of 13 fifth graders, and the only thing he can teach them is rock; which he does as a means to providing him with a band to enter into the local Battle of the Bands Competition, an accolade he sorely wants to win. Predictably, Dewey learns as much about empathy and respecting others as the kids learn about Led Zep and guitar riffs, but it’s all good fun and there’s plenty of energy in the stage performances and surprisingly excellent performances from the kids, culminating in a genuinely gig-like spectacular 10-minute finale.

Although the storyline stays close to the film, Lloyd Webber, with his expert dramatic eye, wanted to focus more on the story of the kids and their musical journey than that of the teacher, Dewey Finn, played by Black in the movie, and Jake Sharp in this current tour. In this production, 42 child actors are involved, many of them local, highly talented musicians, fulfilling the roles of 13 on-stage student roles. A notable shoutout goes to 12-year-old Marikit Akiwumi who lives in Guildford and plays Katie in the show (and as a side-note can play seven instruments) and whose appearance on stage created quite a sensation with the local audience.

Opening night was well attended with a young appreciative audience – probably a lot of friends and family of the young performers. There was a lot of cheering and support for the local actors, as well as laughs for the farcical, sometimes slapstick humour. Another shoutout goes to Rebecca Lock, playing Rosalie Mullins, the Principal, for her impressive and varied vocal talents. The set was also most enjoyable; interactive and adaptive, keeping the audience perpetually entertained.

I’m sure the management team of the New Vic raised their horned fists at the gods as yet another unprecedented event threatened to thwart yet another production; this time due to the panic-buying petrol shortage. With news of restrictions easing soon however, I would certainly say it’s worth the petrol to get there.

Amanda Briggs/Lauren Nelless, September 2021

School of Rock is performing at the New Victoria in Woking from Tuesday 28 September to Saturday 2 October