A tremendous show that will attract serious attention from the West End: Rehab – The Musical reviewed

Rehab: The Musical opens with a boyband star, Kid Pop, getting busted for possession of cocaine. The judge sentences him to a course of treatment at the Glade which he attends with great reluctance. Giving up marching powder is the last thing on his mind. ‘I said no to drugs but they just wouldn’t listen.’ His sharky agent, Malcolm Stone, wants to prolong Kid Pop’s notoriety by sending an undercover ‘addict’ to the Glade to spy on him and leak stories to the press. Stone hires a luscious sex bomb, Lucy, to take on the job, and it’s obvious that Kid Pop will seduce her and their affair will end in redemption for both parties.

Predictable enough, perhaps, but the couple’s journey is a joy to experience. Fabulous costumes and an array of ingenious set designs transform the stage into a series of court rooms, nightclubs, therapy suites and hospital clinics. The cynicism of the opening scenes gives way to sympathy for the Glade’s inmates and their woes. One addict is a cross-dressing overeater who loves to wear lipstick and eye shadow. Another is a pale misfit who can’t stop visiting tanning salons. Annabel Giles does a great turn as an ex-Bond girl struggling to beat the bottle.

Elliot Davis’s adroit, quickfire script can shift instantly from cynical wit to emotional tenderness. The double agent, Lucy, isn’t just a greedy bimbo but a divorced single mum involved in a custody battle for her son. Her previous career as a sex worker has damaged her claim to be a responsible parent, and she uses Malcolm’s job offer to bolster her record as a reliable employee. Gloria Onitiri plays Lucy as a confused, frightened and almost tragic figure struggling to overcome the appalling challenges that life has thrown at her.