Mod Crop – Review – Scarborough Spa

By Elizabeth Stanforth-Sharpe, May 2025

First premiered at Nottingham Theatre Royal, Mod Crop is the stage adaptation of the first book, Brummell’s Last Rift, in Alan Fletcher’s Mod Crops trilogy, set in the 60’s mod scene of Nottingham, Newark and Skegness. It tells the story of three teenage mates growing up in 1965 with all the attendant peer pressures, new music, scooters, and August bank holiday meet-ups.

There’s Milt (Joshua Hack) with a public front of the best bike, the best gear, the most swagger and loudest confidence, but who battles quietly with his own issues. Then there’s Don (Samuel Joseph Howes), the unofficial leader of the pack and the embodiment of Mod culture and attitude.

Last, but not least, is Andy (Liam Carrington). We all remember the kid like Andy from our schooldays. A late developer, dressed by his mum in all the wrong gear, can’t afford the bike or the sharp suits and wouldn’t have a clue how to chat to a girl, but longs to be part of the action. Naïve, loveable, and eager to find a place in the world where he fits. Add in Sharon (Anya Read) as Milt’s longsuffering girlfriend, and the scene is set for a bildungsroman musical that is a moving, energetic, truly wonderful night’s entertainment.

“Passion in their work”

The young ensemble is composed of alumni of Scarborough’s Hatton College – Derren, Kirsten, Charlie, Ruby, Kiara, Jack, Caitlin, Amy, Anya and Lilly – and everyone of them is sensational. They deserve so much praise. The choreography is tight, the singing is superb, the acting is as accomplished as the professional cast, and the passion in their work is exhausting to watch. On stage almost continuously, they move seamlessly through waiting-on at the aptly named Brief Encounter café, dancing their way through a string of Sixties classics including Shirley Ellis’ ‘The Clapping Song’, Little Anthony and the Imperials’ ‘Goin’ Out Of My Head’, and The Small Faces’ ‘Lazy Sunday Afternoon’, plus taking on a myriad of characters that keep the narrative flowing. Other ensemble members are Julie Hatton, Nic Adams, Karon, and Kathryn.

It’s the small details that give a piece like this real authenticity and style. Take a simple black box space, add two impressive shiny scooters, the Mod bullseye symbol as a backboard and pinups taken from the pages of NME, and the rudiments are there, but it’s the addition of back-combed hairstyles, mini-dresses, plastic rain hats, Mary Janes, tomato ketchup dispensers, perms and the signage for ‘John Collier – the Window To Watch’ that add in the humour and tug at the nostalgia heartstrings.

“Richness of atmosphere”

Special care and attention has been taken by the musical director in splitting and acoustically spreading the music tracks to replicate the presence of a four-piece live band on stage. When a creative team is so dedicated to being faithful in the finer, almost incidental, specifics it adds a richness of atmosphere that is hard to quantify, but very, very special and this team have pulled out all the stops.

We watch as our four protagonists navigate their way through the hard recognition that there’s more to life than quick fumbles on Skegness sands and experimental drugs at Newark Castle. In 1965 the British discovery of gas in the North Sea has just been made and the oil and gas industries are beginning to take off. Rig construction is dangerous with very limited safety standards, and physically demanding, but Don is lured by the big wages and an exotic new location, so heads out to Spain.

“Optimistic joy”

Milt and Sharon need the shiny chrome of a Silver Cross pram more than they need a souped-up scooter, before settling down to a hard-won domestic bliss. And Andy? Dear loveable Andy whom the ladies in the audience all want to hug and mother? He’ll do anything for his mates but has learned the hard way that he needs to care for himself too. He’s stuck in a dead-end apprenticeship, and admits he’s confused and terrified of the future. It’s going to take him a bit longer than the others to figure things out, but we know that he’s going to get there in the end. When he sings Little Milton’s ‘We’re Going To Make It’ with absolute confidence, clarity and conviction, the determination and strength shines through.

Mod Crop is a tremendous feel-good musical, every parka pocket bulging with sixties effervescence and optimistic joy. The audience are up on their feet, dancing, singing, and clapping in the aisles, and in a finale that goes on for over fifteen minutes, nobody wants to go home.

What higher testimony for a production can there be than this?

More info: modcrop.co.uk
images: Niav Toolan