After a successful run at Riverside Studios last year, Here You Come Again is on the road. The show fuses together lockdown with Dolly Parton music and arrives with a heart-warming production. Here You Come Again tells of Kevin, a 40 year old who has moved back into his parents attic following a breakup. As lockdown stretches on Kevin finds himself questioning his self worth, his career and pretty much everything in-between but his pep talk comes in the form of his idol, Dolly Parton and her back catalogue.

Here You Come Again is not a complex story but nor does it need to be. Instead it deals with human emotion but makes it utterly relevant in the most unexpected way. Whilst Kevin battles with his self worth, Dolly Parton tries to guide him through it. The themes are treated with sensitivity but also a self depreciating humour and we go from Kevin performing in drag to discussing his breakup! There are however pivotal points that rely on voicemails and one sided phone calls that do lose some of the drama and emotional buy in due to the structure of the show and much of Dolly’s encouragement feels cliché but somehow you never stop rooting for Kevin or believing in the power of Dolly.

The small cast is fronted by Stephen Webb as Kevin and co-writer Tricia Paoluccio as Dolly Parton, both of whom are brilliant in their roles. Webb makes Kevin utterly relatable, putting on an over the top front at times and others curled up on his bed but consistently watchable. His energy drives this production forward and you genuinely find yourself rooting for Kevin’s happiness as a result. Paoluccio also inhibits Dolly brilliantly, from her vocal quality to her mannerisms and by the end of the night I left feeling like I had spent the evening in Dolly’s presence.

The music features a selection of Dolly’s back catalogue including 9 to 5, Islands In The Stream, I Will Always Love You as well as some numbers that I hadn’t heard before (I confess I am not familiar with Dolly’s entire back catalogue). However even as someone not familiar with all of Dolly’s music the numbers were all enjoyable and didn’t feel shoehorned in. Paoluccio and Webb sang them all with bundles of personality and the backing harmonies added by Aidan Cutler, Emma Jane Fearnley and Austin Garrett helped the numbers sound richer.

The set design by Paul Wills gave a brilliant impression of Kevin’s parents attic, you could clearly see children’s toys which had been kept for posterity and Christmas decorations in amongst Kevin’s single bed and Dolly posters. The design felt cluttered, as an attic typically is, yet it still gave Kevin and Dolly the freedom to roam around the space without feeling too constrained. The combined with a huge amount of dry ice and some fun lighting design helped up the ante on the camp front, as Dolly and Kevin frequently reminded us, she is a gay icon after all!!

Here You Go Again may not set the theatrical world aflame but it does feel like a reassuring warm hug and sometimes a warm hug is just what Dolly, sorry the Dr ordered.

Here You Come Again is on at New Wimbledon Theatre until 23rd February. You can find out more and book tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Ghost, & Juliet and Bat Out of Hell.