Review: Sunny Afternoon (New Theatre Oxford)

Sunny Afternoon is a jukebox musical about 60s band The Kinks. The musical is now on tour and I was invited to review it at the New Theatre in Oxford.

At first view of the stage it was obvious the show was music based, most of the set (Miriam Buether) comprising of speaker units, with a window into a recording studio part of the backdrop. I was pleased to see instruments on stage as I love being able to see the musicians during a musical. For me it was a huge bonus to discover once the show started that there were actor-musicians on stage as I love an actor-muso show. Usually.

However, Sunny Afternoon has its strengths and also glaring omissions, the obvious backbone of the show being the cast and the music. I was surprised at how many of the musical numbers I did recognise, and I enjoyed the delivery of the songs greatly, in particular You Really Got Me in the first half which pulled my attention out of my head and back onto the stage. This was a moment when the superb lighting design (Rick Fisher), along with the music made you feel like you were watching a gig. This is both a highlight of the show and also a weakness.

Yes, the music was brilliant. However, the story loosely holding them together was full of plot holes and pacing issues. Based almost entirely on the relationship between Ray and Dave Davies, played brilliantly by Danny Horn and Oliver Hoare, with limited mention of the other two band members, and hardly any character development of any other cast members, it leaves you with more questions than answers. We also experienced a few sound issues, making it difficult to hear speech a couple of times.

One thing that I would have liked to have seen padded out more was the relationship between Ray and Rasa (Lisa Wright). Rasa’s narrative arc made little sense, going from one minute likely post-natal depression symptoms yet simultaneously accepting her husband is out there getting attention from groupies etc, to singing about being fed up (Tired of Waiting) to then being backing singer at gigs again, the child nowhere to be seen. So many questions. This is just one example of the fleshing out other characters deserved.

I personally loved Oliver Hoare’s performance as Dave Davies. As well as being a brilliant performer and managing to look fabulous in absolutely every costume he came on stage in, this character was entertaining however I do feel like the writing missed some of the levels of angst that would have been present between him and some of the other band members, and especially his brother. This was all seemingly glossed over for the purpose of the show.

Another highlight performance, for me, was from Danny Horn, playing Ray Davies, demonstrating the character’s musical composition technique and obvious mental health struggles throughout. His vocal performances were an obvious positive in this musical.

Zakarie Stokes, as drummer Mick Avory, had some solo time on stage giving a stunning drumming performance but even while I sat there wondering at its brilliance, I was curious why it had been segued into the show without a mention. Again, this gave the show more of a gig vibe.

Harry Curley, as Pete Quaife, did have a slight character arc towards the end, as he attempted to leave the band. This sadly almost felt a bit like a nod to the bassist that was shoved in as an afterthought by that point, however.

When I looked at the programme later, I spotted several cast members with named characters and honestly struggled to place some of them. This is not to say they are lacking in performance ability, just that they weren’t given a lot to work with. The Davies parents, for example, appeared and disappeared after hardly making an impact, most of the younger ensemble were seemingly there to make the place look pretty, and the agents and publishers appeared to have almost been added as a comic after-thought, where sadly most of the jokes fell completely flat.

More musical highlights appeared in the second half, starting on a high note with This Time Tomorrow which contained some beautiful vocal arrangements. I Go to Sleep, gave the one window into Ray and Rasa’s relationship which I wished had been developed more. The song Days was also a standout in the second half, the five-part vocal harmonies in this were gorgeous.

Musically this show was very entertaining at times – much in the way you enjoy some songs in an album more than others - but as a musical the show left me feeling disappointed, sadly. If you could take the band members (and the musicians) and put on a show with just the music. I’d go and see that any day. The story felt like it didn’t add a huge amount to it. It was there to bridge between songs, but not all of those links were particularly effective.

I will, however, be looking forward to seeing the talented cast members that I’ve named in something else in future.

⭐⭐⭐

Sunny Afternoon is showing at New Theatre until Saturday 14 February 2026. Click here to buy tickets.

If you would like to see my curtain call photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.

I was gifted tickets for this show in exchange for an honest review.