Hair @ The Turbine On The Jetty...

Last week Stuart and I went to watch a concert version of our favourite musical Hair put on by The Turbine Theatre on a bobbing jetty next to London's glitzy Battersea Power Station.

Presented as part of a specially curated festival of live entertainment the show was directed by Arlene Phillips, with a cast including Matt Croke, Danielle Fiamanya, Jordan Luke Gage, Grace Mouat, Millie O’Connell, Jodie Steele and the excellent Layton Williams.

A chilly wind blew across the Thames as we huddled down into our deckchairs but the infectious songs soon had us dreaming of the warm sun and sixties counterculture in all its barefoot, long-haired, bell-bottomed, beaded and fringed glory. 

Aquarius, Good Morning Starshine, Hair, Black Boys/White Boys, I Got Life, and Let The Sunshine In were all sung so much better than the recent touring production last year.

Even sat on that jetty on the Thames we still connected with that wonderful tribal love rock music; music that celebrates and explores ideas of identity, community, global responsibility and peace. 50 years down the line and 15 metres down the river, Hair remains as relevant as ever as it examines what it means to be a young person in a changing world.

Maybe, just maybe, next time we'll pack a warmer kaftan.