Gary Barlow – A Different Stage Review at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London

“Tales from the boy-band boy scout”

“Barlow is an energetic and engaging storyteller, but you won’t mistake A Different Stage for anything off-the-cuff. He tells a couple of funny stories about disastrous gigs — one of which all but kills off his American career in a trice — that reinforced his desire to avoid sloppiness at all costs. He is the boy-band boy scout: always prepared.”

“Take That fans will find much to love here. Neutrals like me may find themselves feeling kept at arm’s length. Tim Firth’s lively production, designed by Es Devlin, keeps its man on a short rein: he’s peppy, sometimes knowingly naff, addresses some true trials in his life, yet never entirely leaves Mr Showbiz mode. It’s an entertaining, sometimes amusing, sometimes moving, yet slightly too stage-managed evening of self-revelation.”

“Gary Barlow’s cheesy but charming one-man show will win you over”

“Gary Barlow makes his West End debut with new one-man show A Different Stage, a honest, cheesy and ever so slightly naff effort that will bowl you over with its charm nonetheless.”

“The intimate setting of one of the capital’s smaller theatres works well with Barlow’s easygoing presence and the stripped back staging of his solo effort, which sees the star surrounded by stacks of touring cases which house his props.”

“A Different Stage offers nothing mind-blowingly original other than Barlow himself, whose effortlessly engaging persona can sell the hell out of pretty much anything – yes, fans will be most satisfied by the show, but even the most hard-hearted will find it hard to resist cracking a smile or humming along at points. And yes, all the hits are there, plus a few more treats thrown in as well.”

“Soppy, sappy… but Barlow still shines like a superstar”

“I first saw the show in the community centre of Gary’s home town of Frodsham, Cheshire, back in June. And while it’s lost some of the intimacy and intensity, performed as it was in front of a handful of people who watched their local hero grow up, it retains all of Barlow’s boyish vulnerability and dreamy vocals.”

“It’s like listening to a special edition of Desert Island Discs . . . introduced by the man himself, with snatches of his own music. Barlow’s great gift is to be one of us. Standing on stage in a striped tracksuit, he looks like the PE teacher you wish you’d had at school.”

“I have just two quibbles. One: that the song-to-chat ratio isn’t higher. I prefer Barlow’s singing to Firth’s gags. And two: the fact that the first half ends on a downer. I like a twist of hope with my interval martini.”

A Different Stage runs from 30 August 2022 until 25 September 2022 at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London.