If you grew up obsessed with Top of the Pops, Duran Duran, or the dream of starting a band to impress a girl, Sing Street the Musical will feel like stepping back into your own 80s coming-of-age story. I interviewed Grace Collender, who plays the enigmatic Raphina, to talk about the show - and why this production hits so close to home for me.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting in for Bernie Keith on BBC Northampton, and one of the interviews I requested was with Grace Collender, who plays the enigmatic Raphina in Sing Street the Musical, currently running at The Lyric Hammersmith.

She immediately picked up on my enthusiasm for the show. and for the 2016 film it’s adapted from.

“Do you have an Irish background?” she asked.

placeholder image — Don't miss Sing Street The Musical

“No,” I told her, “I just lovedSing Street, so much so that I ended up watching it five or six times, introducing friends and family who, of course, loved it too.”

The original Sing Street movie, directed by John Carney (Once, Begin Again), is a love letter to 1980s pop, set in Dublin during a recession-ridden, politically tense time. Yet it’s not a bleak story, it’s about hope, escape, and the power of music, all seen through the eyes of teenagers who are trying to make sense of life and love.

The musical captures this perfectly. We follow Conor, played here by Sheridan Townsley, whose parents’ financial troubles force him to transfer to a strict Christian Brothers school. There he meets Raphina - beautiful, mysterious, and slightly aloof, played brilliantly by Grace Collender. Raphina dreams of escaping to London to become a model, but behind the cool exterior, we see glimpses of her vulnerability. With her Doc Martens, corset tops, and big hair, she looks like she’s stepped straight out of Smash Hits magazine.

The show opens with the cast gathered around the telly for Top of the Pops, something anyone who grew up in the 80s will remember as sacred. Conor sings, “It makes my heart beat faster”, which pretty much sums up how we all felt about music back then. In fact, in my memoir From Wham to Woo - A Life on the mic' I share stories from my own experience of forming bands, gigging, and living the highs and lows of 80s pop culture, so Sing Street feels like home turf to me.

The cast (many of them newcomers) play their own instruments live on stage, and they play them well. They channel Duran Duran and The Cure, but also bring a rawness and authenticity to the performances that makes you believe in the band they form, even if it starts off as a way to impress a girl.

Sheridan Townsley is spot on as Conor, he looks the part, sings the part, and crucially, gets the awkward teenage yearning just right. The original songs from the film are still the standouts: Up has been one of my favourite songs since I first saw the movie, and To Find You never fails to pull at the heartstrings. But there are new songs too, seamlessly woven in, and it was only after the show that I discovered they were written by Gary Clark of Danny Wilson fame. Given that Mary’s Prayer was basically the soundtrack to my twenties, it’s no wonder the new material struck a chord.

Adam Hunter (formerly of HYYTS) p

The book for the musical is by Enda Walsh (Once, Disco Pigs), and John Carney himself is involved, which is likely why the characters feel so faithful to the film. I would have been seriously heartbroken if Conor and Raphina hadn’t looked and felt right, but thankfully, they do.

If you haven’t seen the film yet, find it- and keep some tissues handy. It’s joyous, but also a little heartbreaking, much like the teenage years it depicts. As Raphina so perfectly puts it: “Happy-sad.”

Let’s hope this show gets the West End transfer it deserves. The cast might be largely unknown now, but they won’t stay that way for long.

https://lyric.co.uk/shows/sing-street/