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Here & Now Brings The Music Of Steps To Milton Keynes Theatre This March - Interview
The first UK & Ireland tour of Here & Now – The Steps Musical arrives in Milton Keynes from Tue 31 Mar – Sat 4 Apr – it’d be a TRAGEDY to miss it!
The producers of the UK and Ireland tour and WhatsOnStage Award-nominated musical HERE & NOW, presented by UK pop sensation Steps, are delighted to bring the show to Milton Keynes Theatre for a week of performances, from Tue 31 Mar – Sat 4 Apr.
Simon Spoke to River Medway for Horizon Radio.
The show stars Lara Denning (& Juliet, UK Tour; Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, West End) as Caz, Sally Ann Matthews (Coronation Street, ITV) as Patricia, Jacqui Dubois (Ghost The Musical UK tour) as Vel, Blake Patrick Anderson (Emojiland, West End) as Robbie, Rosie Singha (& Juliet UK and Ireland tour) as Neeta, River Medway (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, BBC) as Jem, Chris Grahamson (NOW That’s What I Call A Musical UK and Ireland tour) as Gareth, Edward Baker-Duly (The King and I, Broadway & West End) as Max, Ben Darcy (Pretty Woman, West End) as Ben, John Stacey (Kiss Me Kate, Barbican) as Lesley and Lauren Woolf (I Should Be So Lucky, UK Tour) as Tracey.
Simon saw the show on 31st March
Review: Here & Now – The Steps Musical
A Supermarket Sweep of Pure Pop Joy
Step into "Better the Devil" supermarket, where literally everything is happening at once. The plot centers on Caz—delivered via an outstanding performance by Laura Denning—as she reaches her milestone 50th birthday. Her loyal supermarket squad, Val (Jacqui Dubois), Neeta (Rosie Singha), and Robbie (Blake Patrick Anderson), are racing against the clock to complete a secret task before "Sunday Week," a deadline that drives the high-energy narrative forward.
The Cast & Characters
The production is anchored by a stellar ensemble. We are led down a colorful path to meet:
Jem (River Medway): A standout Drag Queen who brings charisma and flair to every scene.
Max (Edward Baker-Duly): The manager with a secret "French Lover" persona. He plays the villain we love to hate—he certainly deserves a boo!
Gareth (Chris Grahamson): Caz’s husband, who grounds the show's domestic heart.
While the ensemble is strong, we definitely found ourselves wanting more "Jem time," especially after her dazzling, spotlight-stealing moment during "Chain Reaction."
The Set: A Moveable Feast
The staging is a technical marvel. The set is a "moveable feast" of brightly colored, heavy-duty industrial units. From freezers and washing machines to checkout counters and back offices, the set pieces are incredibly robust, shifting seamlessly to keep the pace lightning-fast. It’s a vivid, saturated world that feels both sturdy and whimsical.
The Music: Steps Like You’ve Never Heard Them
This show breathes new life into the iconic Steps catalog. The arrangements add surprising emotional depth; "One for Sorrow" is particularly poignant, stripping back the pop veneer to find the heart of the lyrics. On the flip side, the fun is never far away—the band donning pink cowboy hats was a brilliant touch that wasn't lost on the audience.
The Verdict
This is one heck of a camp musical with the "Steps touch" all over it. With clever plot twists and non-stop energy, it is a must-watch for anyone who knows even a single Steps track.
It’s "Time to Begin," so count me in! 5/5 Stars.
The cast is completed by Georgia Christofi, Kade Ferraiolo, Albert Green, Harry Jack, Casey Jay, Charlie-Jay Johnson, Rosemary Annabella Nkrumah, Dean Rickards, Markus Södergren, Genevieve Taylor, Jessica Vaux, and Jack Palmer.
Featuring Steps’ most beloved hit songs, HERE & NOW has an original book by Shaun Kitchener and is produced by the band and ROYO with Pete Waterman. It is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with choreography by Olivier Award-winning Matt Cole and Matt Spencer-Smith as musical supervisor, orchestrator and arranger.
- 112_Here and Now Nov2025_Pamela Raith Photography
- 124_Here and Now Nov2025_Pamela Raith Photography
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- Ben Darcy as Ben & Rosie Singha as Neeta in HERE & NOW, credit Pamela Raith
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- LtoR Jacqui Dubois as Vel & Rosie Singha as Neeta in HERE & NOW, credit Pamela Raith
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- River Medway (centre) as Jem in HERE & NOW, credit Pamela Raith 1
- Rosie Singha as Neeta & Blake Patrick Anderson as Robbie in HERE & NOW, credit Pamela Raith
It’s Friday night, and the vibe is right as Caz and her fabulous friends dream of the perfect summer of love. But when Caz discovers her ‘happy ever after’ is a lie, and the gang’s attempts at romance are a total tragedy, they wonder – will love ever get a hold on their hearts? Or should they all just take a chance on a happy ending…
Steps (Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Lee Latchford-Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee) are the UK’s most successful mixed sex pop group of all time, with 14 top-five singles, 4 number-one albums, 22 million record sales, 500 million streams & 11 sold-out national arena tours under their belts. The band’s hits include #1 singles Tragedy/Heartbeat and Stomp, the gold certified One For Sorrow & Better Best Forgotten, the silver certified 5,6,7,8, Last Thing On My Mind, Love’s Got A Hold On My Heart, Chain Reaction, all of which will feature in the musical alongside many more.
Steps’ 2017 comeback tour sold out all 300,000 tickets, making it one of the biggest pop tours of the year. The band have since continued to release new music, including two further iTunes #1 singles, the Sia-penned What The Future Holds in 2020 and the Michelle Visage duet Heartbreak In This City in 2022. In 2022, Steps celebrated their 25th anniversary with a headline summer tour and released the #1 album Platinum Collection, which means they join ABBA, Rolling Stones and Stereophonics as the only groups in UK history to score #1 albums in four consecutive decades.
Musical supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Matt Spencer-Smith, set design by Tom Rogers, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Adam Fisher, wigs and hair design by Sam Cox, make-up design by Jackie Saundercock, casting by Will Burton for Grindrod Burton Casting, Music Technology by Phij Adams and Production Management by Setting Line.
Book your tickets now at ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes