Plymouth Theatre Review

Easy to Follow: 3.5
Family Friendly: 4
Must see: 4
Title: Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story
Venue: Theatre Royal Plymouth
Date: 7/4/26

‘Buddy‘ is a show full of richness and heart, it channels the charm and flair of the 50s music scene through the eyes of Buddy Holly a world renowned rock and roll singer. The show follows Buddy’s electric rise to fame and his dedication to music which set the path for other great musicians to come, such as The Beatles.
Firstly, AJ Jenks did a wonderful job playing Buddy Holly. His line delivery was spot on, his accent was great and he portrayed Buddy with such an underlining sense of righteousness and kindness that it was hard not to fall in love with the character. I think he did a great job of capturing Buddy’ s singing and it was clear the audience were on board with Jenks’ take on the rock and roll icon as everyone was on their feet and applauding throughout the last few songs. Other actors who I think did especially well were Miguel Angel (Tyrone Jones)
and Laura-Dene Perryman (Marlena Madison) both of whom brought such great energy to the stage and provided some incredible vocals which really blew me away.

Secondly, lighting by Jamie King-Cox really stood out for me. I think King-Cox did a stunning job at drawing in the audience to the music by creating a lighting set which matched the rhythm and vibe of the music throughout, literally painting the music on the stage with bright and vibrant colours which only added to the wonder of the music. I think Director Matt Salisbury captured the story wonderfully and delivered a show which is true to the life that Buddy lived. The second act was my favourite and Salisbury delivered an absolute spectacle of a show. I loved how the audience was transported to Buddy’s shows and became a part of the story. I think it was done brilliantly. I would have liked to see less blackouts, I found that it halted the story on some occasions which disrupted the flow. Saying that there were some scene changes that were done brilliantly,
using spotlights to pull attention onto one part of the stage whilst the background was changed created a fluid transition and I would have liked to see more of that. I think Salisbury did a great job at showing Buddy’s care for people and his appreciation for blues music which were some of the inspirations for his music.
To conclude, Buddy The Buddy Holly Story is a trip through time and tells a story full of love and kindness. AJ Jenks does a fantastic job of taking you on this journey and after watching this show I want to learn more about Buddy’s fascinating life. This show is a must see if you are a Buddy Holly fan, but if you’re not it’s still worth a watch as you will learn a lot about music and its roots.
In sixty years time, I hope that someone creates a show about my favourite singer with as much love and care as this show was created for ‘Buddy‘.