As we’re all more than aware by now, the festive season is upon us and Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester has dusted off its Musical Theatre hat, wearing it proudly for their revival of Steve Brown and Justin Greene’s Spend Spend Spend.

Originally staged at in 1998 at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, this is a lively British musical based on the true story of Viv Nicholson (Olivier Award nominated, Rachel Leskovac), a Yorkshire woman who famously won a huge football pool jackpot of £152,319 in 1961- the equivalent of millions today. On a surface level, you could be fooled into thinking that this is your classic rags to riches tale, though her promise to “spend, spend, spend” turns her life into a whirlwind of extravagance, fame, and ultimately heartbreak. The story follows Viv’s meteoric rise from working-class poverty to sudden wealth, anecdotally unpicking its dramatic impact.

It’s timely to stage this production now; classically a time of indulgence and frivolity, but also a time when purse strings are tighter and the cost of living continues to rise inexplicably. To see (somewhat ironically given Designer, Grace Smart’s reflective staging) our current socioeconomic state mirrored before us triggers many an internal debate as we begin to submerge ourselves into the season. Does spend, spend, spending truly bring happiness? Or would that joy be better found elsewhere?

Smart’s aforementioned Design is sublime. Dressing the stage from above, a chandeliered, three-tiered, silver tinsel skirt looks down upon a circular, mirrored stage; adorned with lighting reminiscent of Vaudeville. Even the speakers are silver. Opulent or tacky? It depends from which perspective you choose to look at it- a nice nod to the book at hand. Olivier Award winner, Jack Knowles’ Lighting Design sets the production apart- a true work of genius. His trademark muted colour palettes, sporadically interrupted with vibrant bursts of colour, tonally charge the stage and work effortlessly to envelope you into Viv’s world.

As Viv, Leskovac is a stoically present. Upon entering the stage, the audience is held firmly in her grasp as she momentarily, and often hilariously, allows for the fourth wall to turn transparent. Omnipresent, she guides us through Viv’s life story and truly lives and breathes it. It’s obvious that the character is deeply rooted within her- perhaps a glorious biproduct of her playing ‘Young Viv’ in the original production. This time around, as her younger counterpart, Rose Galbraith is transformative as she effortlessly journeys from sweet-teen to pregnant bride, husband to husband, nothing to something, and to nothing again. Vocally, the pair committedly navigate their way through Brown’s complex score which, particularly during a rousing rendition of ‘Who’s Gonna Love Me?’- soars. The entire ensemble is strong (though it would be remiss to not mention Alfie Parker who just about steals every scene for all the right reasons). They wring every last drop out of Lucy Hind’s characterful choreography and are a solid backbone for the storytelling which can sometimes become the tiniest bit ambiguous.

Spend Spend Spend is a riotous antidote to the festive season. Beneath the melodrama runs a real story of the moral challenges posed to all of us- from the everyday to the extraordinary. In fact, I doubt there’s a single person in the audience who hasn’t once thought their life would be made better by a big win. Though, as pound bills flutter down at the end of the finale, I predict a lot of lessons were learnt vicariously through the life-story of Viv Nicholson- and what a story it is.

Playing at the Royal Exchange until Saturday 11th January, booking and further info can be found here.

Photography by Helen Murray.

Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review.