ANYONE who has ever hoped to win the lottery might feel differently after seeing in The Watermill’s latest actor/musician production how, in 1961, real-life pools winner Viv Nicholson got rid of today’s equivalent of around £5m.
The top-notch partnership of Craig Revel Horwood in charge of direction and choreography, with musical arranger Sarah Travis, turn the highs and lows of Viv’s life into an entertainment which is funny, bawdy and moving in equal measure.
A giant garage door symbolises the years rolling by and initially becomes the backdrop for a beauty salon where the older Viv (Karen Mann in a blockbuster of a performance) turns narrator for her story.
Without a trace of regret she relives her past through her younger self – Kirsty Hoiles, brilliantly capturing all the aspects of the flirty, bouffant-blonde young Viv, a superb mix of Yorkshire grit, vivacity and naivety.
Beaten by her father George (Graham Kent), Viv escapes into marriage and pregnancy, but then finds her soulmate in Keith (Greg Barnett) and it is during this second marriage that, as a friend puts it “luck was a bitch, but now you’re rich,” and Viv announces her intention to spend the lot.
The Castleford pub crowd, having discovered that they are not getting any of the dosh, turn unfriendly and Viv begs Keith to find a place where they can hide. This turns out to be Garforth “where they eat cake with a fork”, but happiness eludes the pair – and the money is running out.
The countless songs, reminiscent of the period, are a wonderful balance between the poignant – when Keith is killed in a car accident Viv pleads Who’s Gonna Love Me? – the raunchy Dance of Love, and the dramatic John Collier, a testament to those who give their lives for coal, as Castleford is a mining village.
What you will undoubtedly come out humming is the title tune, remembering the vibrant, dynamic dance with miners and friends alike dressed in fishnets and leotards punching out the message.
The combination of another intricate, clever set, the superb cast of actor/musicians, a pulsating exciting score and the story, far meatier than many a more frothy musical, make Spend Spend Spend! a must-see.

CAROLINE FRANKLIN