Vibrant, authentic, and emotionally charged, SUNNY AFTERNOON captures The Kinks’ rise to fame in 1960s Britain.
Great Britain in the 1960s was a time of social change, optimism, the breaking down of the old guard and above all the original British invasion. The bohemian set had The Rolling Stones, the mods The Who and the ordinary people of the working class had the rebellion that was The Kinks with their songs of everyday life. From mid-August 1964 to 1970, they dominated the charts with hit after hit, becoming ingrained in a national consciousness and shared history. They were simply the soundtrack of the swinging sixties.
In SUNNY AFTERNOON, with music and storyline by Ray Davies himself, we see their rise in all its unfettered glory; the anger, the betrayal, the frustration and the dynamics of a band changing with each experience. All set to a soundtrack that is timeless.
The cast is a true ensemble with thirteen cast members and three on-stage musicians telling the tale of four boys from Muswell Hill all the way to Madison Square Gardens over a phenomenal rollercoaster of eight years.
The central characters of Ray and Dave Davies are played note-perfect by Danny Horn and Oliver Hoare; the deep-thinking worrier and the louche party animal. Harry Curley as misfit bassist Peter Quaife and Zakarie Stokes as drummer Mick Avory in his professional debut complete the line-up of one of the most influential bands to come out of the 1960s, and their playing as The Kinks is outstanding. This is not a “jukebox musical” but a loving recreation of each note and feel of the original work played not by four actors but four exceptional musicians who are also actors; Zakarie Stokes’s drum solo is outstanding.
The remaining cast is more than up to the task of telling the backstory, and the songs come thick and fast, ranging from big production numbers to softer interpretations. Of particular note here are Lisa Wright as Rasa and Tam Williams and Joseph Richardson as Grenville Collins and Robert Wave, an upper-crust double act who provide a humorous counterfoil to the working-class friction of the band themselves.
The whole musical is a joy from start to finish with power, pace, humour and a standard of execution that would put other productions to shame. The cast of creatives behind the scenes have worked hard to recreate the atmosphere of the time under designer Miriam Buether and William Fricker’s set, with choreography by Adam Cooper, which is seamless. Add to that the lighting of Rick Fisher, authentic recreation of the fashion of the day by Carole Hancock and the powerful sound created by Matt McKenzie, and you have a stand-out, knock-down production that is as powerful as it is fun.
SUNNY AFTERNOON is simply a feel-good musical of the highest standard, and it is no wonder that the production has won awards galore. The audience is there, back in the 1960s, with each song receiving rapturous applause, and the Madison Square Gardens finale has the audience completely on their feet. They could be there in November 1972 and not in Manchester in 2025. This is more than a sunny afternoon, it is glorious nostalgia at its best and a fitting sunset for a band which gave us so much.
SUNNY AFTERNOON runs at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, until 18 October 2025
Gillian has a Masters degree in Film Theory and a background in music journalism. A veteran of gig promotion, she loves nothing more than a darkened room, a packet of Revels and a good play. By day she works in medico-legal administration, by night she escapes into theatre for relaxation.
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