The Parent Agency is a brand new, never been seen before, musical currently showing at The Storyhouse in Chester, where we were lucky enough to attend on opening night for the world premier. The show is an adaptation of David Baddiel’s best selling book ‘The Parent Agency’ with music by acclaimed songwriter Dan Gillespie Sells and directed by Tim Jackson.
The story is all about a 10 (nearly 11) year old boy called Barry, yes Barry! Who is fed up of his parents and finds himself in the unusual position of being able to swap them for a new set. As the story unfolds we meet lots of potential families for Barry which results in hilarity, dancing, singing and, dare I admit it, even tears at one point.
The Parent Agency is a real family friendly show. We took our 3 children, 5, 12 and 15 and all 3 of them enjoyed it. It’s laugh out loud funny and full of catchy songs that had the whole audience tapping their feet and clapping their hands.
It was a real privilege to be there on opening night and watch the very first full run through of the show. I was in absolute awe of the whole cast but especially Louis Wilkins who played Barry. To be able to act, dance and sing in pretty much every single scene and not forget a single word or miss a beat was incredible and I have no doubt Louis Wilkins is a name we will all come to know and love in the theatre world in years to come.
Max Bispham also deserves a special mention, he played Derek but will also be playing Barry and just like Louis he was incredible with great stage presence and a wonderful voice.
The majority of the cast play numerous roles and they just transition from one character to another seamlessly, they really are all incredible.
The set was also really creative and went from home to office effortlessly, they even had a moving bus, a football pitch and a whole load of trampolines, not to mention the two girls whizzing round on hoverboards as if it was as natural as walking!
If you are a fan of David Baddiel’s book then this is an absolute must but even if you’ve never read a single one of his books and just love the idea of a comical musical then this is for you. We loved every second of it and would highly recommend it, 5 stars!
The Parent Agency will be at The Storyhouse Chester till 2nd March before heading to London for a tour.
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