Thursday 10th November 2016, day off work today, so I’m down at the Millenium Centre here in Cardiff Bay for two more performances of Mamma Mia, before it’s run in Cardiff ends on Sunday. Recently I’ve been talking about my favourite scenes from the show,which if I’m honest, is probably every scene in the whole production. I finished my last blog at the end of act one, so I’ll start today’s with the start of act two.

After the ‘Entr’acte’ the second act opens with a really colourful dream sequence, I really love this opening. We see Sophie suffering from a nightmare to be confronted by her three dads, in full wedding regalia. And the whole ensemble dressed in swimsuits, goggles and brightly coloured long sleeve gloves. Together they sing ‘Under attack’ with a fabulously choreographed dance routine, seemingly trapping Sophie as she tries to escape her worries. At the end of this section, Sophie lurches to the floor and wakes with a scream as Donna enters to see what’s wrong. As Sophie and Donna row about the wedding, Sophie storms off leaving Donna on her own, who then sings ‘One of us’, so beautifully. Sam enters the scene, and as they both argue with each other about the wedding, they burst into song, with a fantastic rendition of ‘SOS. A fabulous start to act two, with three great songs packed into the opening scene. 

As the pair walk off in opposite directions, Tanya and the girls enter the next scene, with Pepper in persuit of Tanya. Another brilliant dance routine ensues, as Tanya sings ‘Does your mother know’ to a love struck Pepper. The dancing from some of the male cast is fabulous, especially Pepper, who must have born with elastic bands as muscles, his routine is just awesome. A funny and breathtaking scene, to lighten the mood before the wedding sequence. 

The next scene is another of my favourites, as Sky and Sophie argue over the fact that she has gone behind Sky’s back to look for her dad. As Sam enters at the end of the row, Sky runs off, leaving a distraught Sophie alone with Sam. As he tries to give her the vast knowledge he has of marriage etc, he sings a brilliant version of ‘Knowing me,knowing you’, to a bewildered Sophie. And I must say great singing by all the male cast in this role. A real treat to listen to and a magnificent start to act two. At this point I’ll leave it there for now, and continue the rest of act two in my next instalment.

So to today’s performances, and as usual very impressive, the performances just get better and better on every occasion. The dancing is still as sharp and crisp as all the other performances I’ve seen. The singing, by all the cast is just superb, as it has been since show number one. I know I say this every time, but I have to admit, it’s just brilliant. This show is quickly moving up my rankings as one of the best shows I’ve seen over the past 4 years.