Review by Eileen Earnshaw
Its always a pleasure to visit the Royal Exchange. There is such an ease in the journey from tram, the short walk, the lighted entrance and the welcome from the attentive staff.
To be privileged to see a musical loke Spend, Spend, Spend was a joy.
This production, directed by Josh Seymour, choreographed by Lucy Hind and designed by Grace Smart.
Spend, Spend, Spend is a collaboration between Steve Brown, (book, lyrics, and music) and Justin Green (book, lyrics) inspired by the life of Viv Nicholson and her autobiography in association with Stephen Smith.
Its debut was at the Leeds Theatre from where it progressed to a long and very successful run in the West End.
The work is placed in the era of post WW2 Britain which was economically on its knees due to the expense of war with Germany. Viv lived in a Yorkshire mining community, her father spent what the family had in the pub, he was a bully, a misogynistic man. Viv escaped by marrying the first man who came along. This led to the first of her five divorces but happiness with Keith her second husband who sadly died in a car crash. He was her second and, in her opinion, her only true husband. Into this sad and poverty-stricken place, Viv Nicholson won an incredible amount of money on the pools.
She was young, very beautiful, very rich and as far as money was concerned naïve. She was a gift to the newspapers, her life-style a fascination to everyone, pursued and reported on in every aspect of her life from the pink Cadillac to what she had for breakfast. She was the first of people to be media hunted but without the knowledge we have today of the damage the media can cause to the lives of celebrities.
The performance is in the round, the format with the ‘older Viv’ and narrator is sung by Rachel Leskovac who incidentally played the ‘young Viv’ in 1999 in the West End production opposite Barbara Dickson as the ‘older Viv’ and narrator.
The ‘Young Viv’ is sung wonderfully by Rose Galbraith and we watch through the eyes of the narrator, the highs and lows of the life of this luckiest, saddest person in the world.
Eventually Viv returned to Yorkshire. She joined the church of the Jehovah Witness and died in 2015 at the age of 79.
On until 11 January 2025
Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester M2 7DH
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