Review Roundup: Live Aid Musical JUST FOR ONE DAY Opens at The Old Vic

Just For One Day, the new musical inspired by the legendary Live Aid concert, is officially open at London's Old Vic! Read the reviews!

The show is a new musical written by best-selling author John O’Farrell (Mrs Doubtfire, Something Rotten) and directed by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, The Little Big Things) in a limited run to 30 March 2024.

Political unrest, social revolution, boom and bust. In a decade of neon and noise, one moment made the world stand still and brought 1.5 billion people together – and they all have a story to tell about ‘the day rock ‘n’ roll changed the world’.

Featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, The Cars, Status Quo, Paul Weller, Sade, The Boomtown Rats, Bryan Adams, Diana Ross, Ultravox and more, Just For One Day tells the story of Live Aid when 70 artists performed, for free, in front of an audience of 1.5 billion in a ‘global jukebox’ at Wembley Stadium, London, and John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia, to raise $127 million for famine relief. 

The full creative team for Just For One Day is also announced: the Book is written by John O’Farrell and the Director is Luke Sheppard. The production features Musical Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestration by Matthew Brind, Choreography by Ebony Molina, Set by Soutra Gilmour, Costume by Fay Fullerton, Lighting by Howard Hudson, Sound by Gareth Owen, Video & Animation by Andrzej Gouldingand Casting by Stuart Burt CDG.  

The cast of Just For One Day includes: Julie Atherton, Ashley Campbell, Jackie Clune, Craige Els, James Hameed, Naomi Katiyo,Hope Kenna, Freddie Love, Emily Ooi and Rhys Wilkinson with further casting to be announced in due course.

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Aliya Al-Hassan: BroadwayWorld: While the script may be full of exposition and awkward phrasing, the music is brilliant and saves this production from complete failure. The band, playing on a raised platfrom at the back of the stage throughout is immaculate. Musical supervisor Matthew Brind brings in clever arrangements that carry the story along with real energy and imagination.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: The breathless tagline invites us to “relive the day when music brought the world together” and the production’s tone seems set. Taking us behind the scenes of the benefit concert, Live Aid, staged in 1985 and viewed by 1.5 billion people, its tornado of sound is certainly stadium quality. An ensemble of singers pound out 80s classics with vigour. The band is belting. But where is the story, surprise, character study and ethical debate on such celebrity endorsed acts of “charidy”? We may as well be listening to the compilation tape, Now That’s What I Call Music 1985 – or Heart FM on full blast.

Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph: There’s even a version of Blowin’ in the Wind that might have swept in from the savanna. That won’t necessarily stave off criticism that this qualified celebration of what Live Aid achieved remains insufficiently Afro-centric. And you can carp about the moments of blunt exposition or the sketchiness of the characters, especially the sample of unsung toilers and concert-goers. But as with the day itself, cynicism melts into admiration. Whether you were there, in situ or on sofa, first time round or not, be prepared for a smile on your lips, a tear in your eyes and a lingering itch to do good.

Sarah Hemming, Financial Times: But as drama it struggles, weighed down by trying to outline the history and emphasise its current relevance. It’s important to bring in the shocking 1984 BBC report from Ethiopia and the Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. But the script is often awkward and heavy with explanation, spelling out points that should just emerge from the story and saddling characters with lines like “It’s time to step up again” or “But how did it really begin?”. Meanwhile, both individuals and issues have little time to acquire any depth or subtlety.

Clive Davis: The Times: Still, the script is awfully wooden at times. There’s a gawky subplot in which Jackie Clune’s Suzanne looks back on her teenage self (perkily portrayed by Hope Kenna) as she prepares to watch her idols at Wembley. Her admirer Tim (Joe Edgar) represents the cynical lefties who suspect the whole thing is a distraction from the real task of smashing capitalism.

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