Review: How Soon Is Now? – Tobacco Factory Theatres

Plenty to like in this new musical despite its confused identity

Box of Tricks’ brand new musical How Soon is Now? is at Tobacco Factory Theatres this week.

It’s always exciting to see new musicals forcing their way through the heavy-weights dominating the UK touring circuit and cluttering London’s West End.

How Soon Is Now? is set on the New Year’s Eve of 1997/98 in Manchester and features a soundtrack of indie bangers.

It explores the relationships of young women at the time, both between each other and the peculiar dynamics of those forged in smokey nightclub toilets. Women will remember them. The toilet doors thrumming with the pounding bass, the shared lighters, strangers’ kohl-streaked faces wet with tears over the ending of a relationship. The solidarity built between drunken strangers through the hazy cigarette smoke leading to friendships for life.

The indie clubs were the safe spaces of the night-world. A communal space for young people driven by a love of the music genre.

The energy and excitement of the night out spilling across bus seats. Though preloading at the time was probably more Mad Dog, cider and Bacardi Breezers before hitting cheap vodka shots and bottles of Newkie Brown – rather than swigging from a large bottle of vodka on the bus.

But, How Soon is Now? captures the zeitgeist of the time, easily recreating the hedonistic and carefree era of the late nighties indie scene.

The show is a metaphor for change. Britain was on the brink of political change where Tory rule was about to be left behind with the landslide victory of New Labour. It’s a political coming of age.

It was a time when anyone could go to university. The mad rush for higher education places ahead of the introduction of the first tuition fees in 1998. And of course, there was the freedom of no camera phones to worry about.

The 90s were also a time of change for the British class system which was being challenged through popular culture. The death of Diana was mentioned with some reverence, but on the dance floors, the DJs were playing Common People, Mis-Shapes, A Design For Life.

It’s perhaps why a rendition of Manic Street Preachers’ A Design For Life feels uncomfortably placed at the end of Act One. Kaitlyn Akinpelumi does an outstanding rendition of the song, making it her own. This is a real feat considering its iconic nature and it being the first single from the band following the disappearance of Richey Edwards.

But the song came at a specific moment in British history. It was a rousing working class anthem. A call to arms from a band whose complex songs revolved around political systems, culture and the working class.

It doesn’t quite fit this particular moment of angst despite its exceptional performance.

How Soon is Now? uses iconic indie hits throughout. We have songs from bands such as Radiohead, The Smiths – although it’s technically from 1986 – and The Stone Roses. It doesn’t feel like a jukebox musical, which is a strength. But it also doesn’t feel like a musical either, more a play with songs.

This is possibly where it confuses itself. There’s a clash of high spirits, fun and poetic metaphor against a developing domestic violence storyline. It’s a show you want to like, you’re rooting for it but it doesn’t quite land because it doesn’t quite know what it is.

Having a live band on stage works brilliantly. Another brilliant facet to the production is the cast, who excel.

Kaitlyn Akinpelumi as Angie and Laura Robinson as Polly have a fantastic chemistry between them, making this a strong point of the show.

Bethan McClean as Jean was also fabulous, blending comedy and pathos into an impressive performance.

From a design point of view, the toilets, DJ booth and fire escape railing were like moving through a time-slip. So accurate.

The light up dance floor was a bit of a puzzler. Perhaps Bristol was different to Manchester. The main nightclubs in Bristol at this precise time – Bristol Bierkeller, Thekla, Mandrake, Blue Mountain and The Powerhouse – all of which hosted alt club nights and most of which hosted the legendary Kandi Klub and Purple Heart Kandi Klub through the nineties – did not have light-up dance floors. That was strictly the preserve of the Townies.

And no bouncer on a Bristol door would have allowed a man wearing shoes and a shirt across the threshold. It kept indie clubs safe from a world of men clad in Ben Sherman checks, the purveyors of violence on Corn Street and in Ritzy. There was never a hint of trouble at Indie clubs. Never a fist raised.

The thought of Bristol’s now sadly departed DJ George, who brought crowds of indie kids to the dance floor several times a week wearing the green tracksuit and bucket hat of Darragh Cowlry’s Spin Jim is funny. Overall, Bristol was far edgier and more donkey jacket, DMs and Nirvana T Shirts.

The Bristol music scene at the time was a major player. Not only did we have the likes of Massive Attack and Roni Size & Reprazent. We had the haunting sounds of Portishead and Strangelove. For a month at the end of 1996, Radio Caroline made a home in the Thekla, returning in spring 1997 due to the overwhelming popularity of the indie radio station. There was our beloved and also sadly departed Ashton Court Festival.

How Soon is Now as a new musical daring to touch upon this era which is currently perceived with great reverence is a very brave move. It does so much so well, and let’s hear it once again for the cast. But ultimately, it confuses itself regarding its own identity.

It’s still likely to be the most accurate portrayal of the British working class you will find in musical theatre. There’s nothing saccharine or false to annoy and it tells the story of our indie culture and history with honest and authentic writing.

How Soon Is Now? is at Tobacco Factory Theatres 22 – 24 October 2026

For more information or to book, visit: https://tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/how-soon-is-now/

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Box of Tricks: https://boxoftrickstheatre.co.uk/

Cast and Creatives
Angie – Kaitlyn Akinpelumi
Polly – Laura Robinson
Jean – Bethan McClean
Spin Jim – Darragh Cowlry
Carl – Theo Woolford
Ensemble – LJ Willow

Writer – Siân Owen
Director – Adam Quayle
Designer – Hannah Sibai
Musical Director – Vidar Norheim
Movement – Chris Brown
Producer – Beck Gadsby
Stage Manager – Jo Cattell
Sound No 1: Nathan Fairweather

Featured Image: Chris Payne

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