Monday night saw the opening of the immensely entertaining Rat Pack at the Milton Keynes Theatre. For two and one quarter hours the audience were whisked back in time when music had meaning and songs had lyrics that could be understood.

Stephen Triffitt as Sinatra gave a polished if under par performance, whilst Nigel Casey as Martin gave a very convincing performance. However on this occasion it was David Hayes as Sammy Davis Jnr who stood out. His vocal performance and characterisation was slick clever and well executed, with immense attention to the maestro himself. The only disappointing aspect was the lack of tap and dancing that Sammy was so famous for; that being said what was performed was of a high standard.

The set was basic, minimal but effective; there not being much room for much else with 70% of the stage being occupied by the big band under the direction of Dominic Barlow, whose control was obvious from the opening of the show.

The first half of the show suffered from the band being over-miked. The soloists struggled to be heard at times, especially when talking with the band still playing, and could have been helped with more bass to support the lower register, especially for Stephen Triffitt.
The second half was slick, with adjustments having been made to the sound and which improved the quality of the performance. The humour was thick and fast and most enjoyable.

A thoroughly entertaining evening- Philip Shell