Sunny Afternoon | Alexandra Palace Theatre

What better location for a musical about British rock band The Kinks than the Alexandra Palace Theatre, a stone’s throw from the Fortis Green neighbourhood where brothers Ray and Dave Davies and their schoolmate Pete Quaife grew up?

Currently touring the UK after winning multiple Olivier awards in its original 2014 London run, Sunny Afternoon has arrived home at the Alexandra Palace Theatre, where jokes about the price of property in Muswell Hill and references to local watering holes went down a charm with the audience.

Sunny Afternoon follows the formation of The Kinks and their rise to fame, weaving in hits such as Lola, Waterloo Sunset and You Really Got Me, as well as the eponymous Sunny Afternoon, alongside plenty of the band’s back catalogue. The music is woven seamlessly into the production, with none of the feeling that a hit has been shoehorned in which can be encountered in jukebox musicals. 

Danny Horn plays the band’s frontman Ray Davies with grit and honesty, while Oliver Hoare’s portrayal of his younger brother Dave captures both his bad boy rock side (at one point he tells a radio host that he likes “hard drugs and dressing in women’s clothing”, a reputation he lives up to in a memorable hotel room party scene later in the performance) and his vulnerability as a young man seeking to make his way in the world.

The band is completed by bass guitarist Pete Quaife (Harry Curley) and drummer Mick Avory (Zakarie Stokes), although it is Ray’s story, as well as that of the band as a whole, that is at the heart of the piece. Through the almost three-hour runtime, he grapples with the death of his older sister Rennie, who inspired his love of music but died tragically young, falls in love with Rasa (Lisa Wright), and struggles with the pressures of fame. 

The cracks begin to show early on for all of the band members, with the first act closing with a dramatic fight scene, and the second act charting their financial worries, overwork, and fears over whether they really want to continue as a band, and if so how. 

Joe Penhall’s book does sometimes fall somewhat short here, seeming to rush through certain developments, while the story also lacks some of the strong emotional anchors of other similar musician origin jukebox musicals, relying a little too much on exposition for its emotional beats. 

It is in the music that Sunny Afternoon truly shines, with a talented group of actor-musicians onstage bringing The Kinks’ music to life, with musical supervision from Elliott Ware. An acapella arrangement of “Days” performed by Horn, Hoare and Stokes alongside Tom Williams and Joseph Richardson as managers Grenville Collins and Robert Wace is particularly impressive and moving. Elsewhere, the volume is amped up to give more of a concert feel, although sometimes the sound balance is a little off here, making it hard to hear the vocals.

Miriam Buether’s set design places us effectively in the time and place, with a backdrop compiled of dozens upon dozens of speakers driving the musical theme home, while Adam Cooper’s choreography is energetic and period-appropriate.

Sunny Afternoon makes for an enjoyable night out for any fan of The Kinks, with plenty to enjoy on the musical front, even if the book is a little thin in places.

Sunny Afternoon runs at the Alexandra Palace Theatre until 31st January before continuing its UK tour.

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★★★☆☆ (3*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Manuel Harlan