REVIEW: The Kinks: Sunny Afternoon at Dublin's Bord Gáis Energy Theatre

Sunny Afternoon won a 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, and it’s easy to understand why with a prodigiously talented all singing, all dancing West End cast telling the story of the proto-Gallagher brothers.
The powder-keg nature of Ray and Dave Davies’ relationship is evident from the off, with the former’s artistic sensibilities at direct odds with the latter’s Kevin The Teenager-style vulgarity and penchant for cross-dressing.
Also evident is just how comprehensively these cockney kids clashed with the manipulative upper-class impresarios who still controlled the music biz in the early ‘60s.
The re-creation of The Kinks' go-go girl-accompanied Top Of The Pops debut is masterful, as is the everything-including-the-kitchen-sink rendition of ‘Dead End Kids’, which introduces us to the whole Muswell Hill gang. By the time the final curtain comes down, we've been treated to 29 of the most quintessentially English pop songs ever written.
Add in elements of Carry On farce, and you’re talking about a cracking night’s entertainment!
Sunny Afternoon runs at Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre until Saturday, kick-off 7.30pm sharp with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.