Starter for Ten is a new musical, based on the book by David Nicholls. It’s a good adaptation of a great story. Here’s my Starter for Ten Musical theatre review.
Overview of Starter for Ten Musical
Starter for Ten is a new musical, first performed at the Bristol Old Vic in 2024. It follows the story of the famous book called Starter for Ten by David Nicholls. I thought it was a good musical, so my Starter for Ten Musical theatre review is positive!
The story follows Brian as he starts at Bristol University. Brian is from Southend in Essex, and is the only person from his family and friend group to be going to university. He arrives at Bristol University full of ideas of the amazing experience he’s going to have. But things don’t always go to plan, as he struggles to adjust to a completely different life to the one he’s left behind at home.
Brian used to watch University Challenge with his Dad, before his Dad died. Brian has always dreamed of being on University Challenge, so he decides to try out for the Bristol University team. Here, he meets Alice, a beautiful blonde girl who’s also on the University Challenge team. Brian falls in love with her, but his feelings aren’t reciprocated. Brian also makes other friends at university, including Rebecca. He tries to get Alice to notice him, and tries to fit in with his new friends – but isn’t always successful, often in very amusing ways. The story follows Brian’s first year at university, with a lot of drinking, chasing Alice, and trying to do well on University Challenge.
What I liked about the Starter for Ten Musical
I love the book Starter for Ten, and David Nicholls is one of my favourite authors. So as soon as I saw this musical advertised, I knew I wanted to see it! And it didn’t disappoint. I thought that, in general, the Starter for Ten Musical followed the story from the book well. Although the musical cut out a fair amount from the book, all the major plot points regarding University Challenge were in the musical. The musical also kept some of the humour from the book – I didn’t find it as funny as I’d found the book, but it was still amusing in parts.
I thought all the performers did a good job with their roles. I thought the actor who played Brian was good and not too far off what I’d imagined from the book. And I really liked the actor who played Rebecca and how she portrayed the character, making her even more likeable than I’d found her in the book.
The performance at the Old Vic also featured Mel Giedroyc – a TV comedian most famous for her role presenting The Great British Bake Off on the BBC. She was brilliant. She played Brian’s Mother, and also the University Challenge assistant. Her comedic timings was just great.
What I wasn’t so sure about
The plot and cuts
In general, I did really like the Starter for Ten Musical. But there were some aspects I wasn’t so sure about. One of the main things was that they cut out so much of the story. When I read the book, I felt like the University Challenge parts of the plot were just one aspect of Brian’s university journey. But in the musical, it sometimes felt like 90% of the focus was on the University Challenge aspects. I would have liked the musical to have shown more of the plot, such as Brian’s friendships with his housemates which was completely missed out.
The musical also really rushed other parts of the plot – like when Brian goes to stay with Alice’s family at Christmas, and when Spencer visits Brian at university. Both of these plot points felt very rushed in the musical. And the musical didn’t fully develop Brian and Alice’s relationship like the book did. In the book, the two characters have a lot of interactions and sleep together once – there are definitely feelings there on Alice’s side as well, even though they never have a full relationship. But in the musical, this is all completely missed out. Instead, it just looks like Brian is chasing a completely uninterested Alice. I would have liked the musical to have shown more of Brian and Alice’s relationship like the book did.
Margaret Thatcher character
There was also a slightly weird choice in the Starter for Ten Musical to change the character of Julian, the assistant in University Challenge. In the book, Julian is a pleasant man who helps the Bristol University team. However, in the musical, this character becomes ‘Julia’ and is a complete Margaret Thatcher lookalike. I get that this show is set in the 1980s, when Thatcher was Prime Minister. But it seemed a slightly weird choice. The Margaret Thatcher character was played by Mel Giedroyc, and she played it very well, including some interaction with the audience which was amusing. But it still felt a bit weird to just suddenly have Margaret Thatcher on stage for a scene.
Alice’s character
I found Alice less likeable in the musical than I did in the book, but I think this was mostly because a lot of her more tender, emotional scenes from the book with Brian are cut.
The musical also changed Alice’s character when they involved her in the ending. In the book (spoiler alert) – Brian ends up cheating in the University Challenge TV round, as he looks at one of the answers ahead of time. In the book, it’s just Brian alone who does this. However, in the musical, Alice is involved and is the one to encourage Brian to cheat. I didn’t like that detail. I already felt like Alice was less likeable in the musical than the book, and involving her in the cheating meant that she was even more unlikeable. It was portrayed that the cheating was Alice’s fault – but in the book, it wasn’t anything to do with Alice. I would have preferred them to have left Alice out of it.
The Ending
To be honest, I really didn’t like the ending of the book. I found it so sad when Brian cheated at University Challenge and got disqualified – he’d always dreamed of being on the show. In a way, I was hoping that the musical might change the ending completely and take out the cheating aspect. But it didn’t. I can understand that the musical had to keep this important plot point. I just hated that part of the book so much, I wanted the musical to have a happier ending!
The musical doesn’t have as sad an ending as the book – it doesn’t cover Brian dropping out of Bristol university, nor does it cover him going on holiday with Rebecca but still writing to Alice. I really didn’t like either of those plot points from the book either, so I was glad the musical didn’t include those! But I’d still love to rewrite the ending of Starter for Ten. It doesn’t even need to be a happy ending – I just didn’t want Brian to cheat at the quiz show, or still be trying to get Alice when clearly Rebecca was so much better for him.
Would I recommend Starter for Ten Musical
I’d definitely recommend the Starter for Ten Musical. Although my Starter for Ten Musical theatre review isn’t 100% positive, I still enjoyed the show. I really like the story (expect the ending!) and the musical was fun to watch. So it’s definitely one I’d recommend. Check out tickets here.