Here & Now
Milton Keynes Theatre
31st March 2026
With their string of earworm hits that often hinted at heavier themes of loss and heartbreak, Steps were known as the ABBA of the 90s, so it was no real surprise when their own jukebox stage show was first announced, in the shape of ‘Here & Now’. The 90s supergroup have one of the strongest back catalogues in pop music, with a glittering career spanning over a quarter a century and the acclaim of being the UK’s most successful mixed-sex pop group of all time. Very much “Mamma Mia” for the next generation, ‘Here & Now’ first premiered in Birmingham in late 2024 prior to a UK tour which has been running since August last year, taking us back through Steps’ list of hits and encouraging audiences to start counting “5,6,7.8” all over again.
In a seaside town, we’re introduced to the employees of Better Best Bargains, a discount grocery store, and our heroine Caz (played by Lara Denning). On the brink of adopting with her husband Gareth (Chris Grahamson), she’s heartbroken at his revelation that he no longer wants that commitment. Caz is left to pick up the pieces of her life, relying on co-workers Vel (Jacqui Dubois), Robbie (Blake Patrick Anderson) and Neeta (Rosie Singha), while trying not to ruffle the feathers of her boss Patricia (Sally Ann Matthews). When Caz bumps into charming stranger Max (Edward Baker-Duly), he seems to have the answers to all of her prayers, but ulterior motives arise and the staff of Better Best Bargains are caught between their longing to “take a chance on a happy ending”, or circumstances more akin to “Tragedy”.
The ”Mamma Mia” formula is obviously a tried-and-tested money spinner, so the presentation of ‘Here & Now’ does feel incredibly familiar. While comparisons to that show are inevitable, the does a fairly decent job of standing on its own two feet in the ever-increasing jukebox-musical arena and has a lot going for it. Shaun Kitchener offers up a warm and witty script, balanced with enough heart to outweigh the camp silliness, and a decent amount of thought of how the songs fit into the narrative. It doesn’t match the cleverness of ‘& Juliet’ in this, but it’s significantly better than the recent ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ and ‘Now That’s What I Call A Musical’, where the shoehorning became painful. Here it feels more organic, perhaps more playfully whimsical than actually clever, but done with a knowing wink, and brings a lot of fun. Plot and character are never at the forefront of these types of shows, and arguably they’re the elements that audiences care the least about, but ‘Here & Now’ gives us likeable and relatable characters with enough personality to make us care about what happens to them.
When the show first played in Birmingham, it had a palpable sense of energy that dynamic force which compensated for some of the more critical shortcoming, but this has slowed as the tour has continued. The first act in particular takes a while to get going and lacking pace, allowing the cracks to appear more than they should. The cast feel a little like they’re going through the motions, perhaps inevitable with long runs, but it does bring down the intended “heartbeat” of the piece, despite Tom Rogers’ colourful set design of electric blues and neon pinks. Choreography (Matt Cole) feels unremarkable which doesn’t help, an ironic result given how famous Steps’ are for their dance routines. Similarly musically, the show feels at times underpowered, and while the ballad arrangements (Matt Spencer-Smith) are beautiful, some of the punchy bangers don’t feel anywhere near as euphoric as they should, with “Deeper Shade Of Blue” and “Better The Devil You Know” being particularly underserved.
Blake Patrick Anderson and Edward Baker-Duly return from the Birmingham run, with Anderson showing traces of autopilot, again presumably down to the length of time he’s been playing ths character. It’s a real shame as Anderson has proven himself to be a real talent with a stunning voice in previous roles. Rosie Singha and Jacqui Dubois are new to the tour and while fine, don’t quite match their predecessors, and only Sally Ann Matthews makes a real effort to make the most of her character as store manager Patricia. But really ‘Here & Now’ is a showcase for the brilliance of Lara Denning, so excellent on the last ‘& Juliet’ tour, and shines here again. Bringing heart and spark to her portrayal of Caz while making Steps’ deceptively-difficult songs seem a breeze to sing, Denning is outstanding and raises the show higher by leading it.
Suffering a little from “late in the tour” fatigue, ‘Here & Now’ won’t challenge Sondheim’s legacy any time soon but it’s a fun silly night out, which is no bad thing. The brilliance of Steps’ undeniably-great songs and Denning’s sublime performance outweigh the production’s weaker elements and make ‘Here & Now” a solid addition to the jukebox scene.
‘Here & Now’ runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 4th April 2026 before continuing on its UK tour through to May 2026.
Performance runtime 2 hours 30 minutes including interval.
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
Details at:
https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/whats-on
