Mamma Mia: Edinburgh Playhouse – still the best feel-good show

Mamma Mia 2019 tour - from left Helen Anker, Sharon Sexton and Nicky Swift (Pic: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg)

Twenty years on and Mamma Mia still feels as fresh as ever.

The show that knocks every other jukebox musical into the wings has embarked on another tour, and, if Friday night in Edinburgh was a marker (spoiler: It was) then it is going to be an absolute blast.

A full house, a great atmosphere, and a smashing cast combine for the perfect feel-good show which, as long as people want to hear the songs of Abba, is unlikely to run out of steam.

And why should it?

Abba split in 1982, but their songs are still genuinely loved.

The band never have reformed - they really didn’t need to thanks to two smash hit films and this enduring show which has become a phenomenon in the West End and on Broadway, not to mention a host of tribute bands.

The song writing brilliance of Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson underpins it all, and shines through this fabulous musical which reaches far beyond the band’s fanbase.

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The plot – well, you know that from the movie.

One girl preparing for her wedding sends invites to the three blokes who could be her dad to join her and complete her big day in the perfect setting on a Greek island. The show’s real heartbeat from three excellent female leads - Sharon Sexton as Donna, the mum who comes face to face with her three ex partners, and Nicky Swift and Helen Anker as her lifelong pals and former backing singers from the old days.

Sexton’s rendition of The Winner Takes It All is a real showstopper - she drains every ounce of emotion from the poignant, at times painful lyrics, and simply knocks it out the park, while Swift and Anker are perfect foils, and absolutely shine in their numbers.

They’re all complemented by the three would-be/could-be dads – and when you factor in a strong, slick, energetic ensemble, you get a joyful, uplifting show which simply carries all with it to the perfect sing-a-long finale.

Mamma Mia is at the Playhouse until Saturday, September,28.

Ticket info HERE https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/mamma-mia/edinburgh-playhouse/