A few weeks ago we enjoyed a wonderful production of Salad Days at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester.Salad Days is possibly the frothiest musical possible. It doesn’t have any messages, there’s no emotional complexity, and nobody has any obstacles to overcome. What it has is people who can’t stop dancing, a comedy copper, young love, a dress shop and a beauty salon, an Egyptian-themed nightclub and some wacky unexpected twists.
The lead characters, Tim and Jane, just graduated from university, are looking to avoid the realities of adulthood and are planning to spend the summer having some fun. Jane’s mother just wants her married off, while Tim’s well-connected parents are planning a prestigious job for him. When Jane and Tim meet a mysterious man with a rather magical piano, the summer is about to get a bit more interesting. They agree to look after the piano for a month and this leads to all sorts of adventures including, at the end a ride in a flying saucer!
There's a dream-like quality to this production with balletic dancing and wonderful singing. There's such a lot of Strictly in the production with Jives, Foxtrots and Charlestons.
Salad Days is a couple of hours of wonderfully mindless fluff. It bursts with joy and we all laughed as we sang along and enjoyed a few hours pure escapism.