“Have you ever slapped a strudel before?” asks Phil Hollinghurst, The Great British Bake Off Musical’s stand-in for Paul Hollywood. Contestant Babs nods her head: “Three times, and all of them ended in divorce.” It’s not entirely clear what she means. But… who cares? This is a Bake Off musical! Innuendos that don’t always make sense are what we’re here for! As you’d hope, the show, written by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, is heaps of fun and full of cracking songs. The more serious stuff might be a little saccharine, but you’ll leave with your appetite satisfied.
The show is based on Bake Off as a concept rather than any real-life storylines, set during the filming of a fictional series and charting behind-the-scenes rivalries and romances among the on-screen action. It’s hosted by presenting duo Kim and Jim (a hilarious Zoe Birkett and Scott Paige), while our judges are “baking demi-gods” Pam Lee (Haydn Gwynne) and Phil Hollinghurst (John Owen-Jones), not-so-loosely based on Prue Leith and Hollywood.
