Review: Half A Sixpence for a feel-good parents night out on West End

On Monday Daddy T and I did something we hadn’t done for years. We went to see a musical on West End with no kids in tow.

We had been invited by BoxOffice.co.uk to see the new Half A Sixpence, a musical adaptation of HG Wells’s semi-autobiographical novel ‘Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul’, which officially opened at Noël Coward Theatre last night.

The revised version of the comedy musical, co-produced by theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh, opened to rave reviews at the Chichester Festival Theatre this summer, and for us, going to see the fun musical with catchy tunes and hidden jokes for adults was a pleasant alternative to our usual child-friendly days out.

The witty musical tells the story of Arthur who leaves his childhood sweetheart Ann to work for a high-end draper. While working there he befriends Helen, the classy daughter of a demanding customer. After Arthur discovers he’s inherited the wealth of a grandfather he never met, Helen takes him under her wings, pressured by her mother who likes his new money.

The feel-good romantic musical had us giggling when snails went flying across the stage at a luncheon, and the music towards the end made us want to go out dancing ourselves. With danceable swing music and more than 20 actors on stage for large ensemble musical numbers, there was no trouble staying awake even for a very exhausted mum.

I enjoyed that there were lots of fun group songs, particularly in the second act. In fact, I’m still humming along to Flash, Bang, Wallop–one of the favourites from the smashing second act, which really stood out in addition to the brilliant female vocalists in the musical.

Half A Sixpence reminded us why we love living in London–first-class entertainment!

Tags: Being a mum, Comedy, Date night, Half A Sixpence, London, Musical, West End