The Choir of Man

Just over a month ago some new faces arrived in ‘The Jungle’, as a number of new actors and musicians joined the company of The Choir of Man, and last night we were invited to visit The Jungle ourselves to see how the new regulars are settling in. For those of you who don’t know, The Choir of Man is a West End production set in a makeshift pub called The Jungle, that sees a group of nine men perform hit songs and enthralling monologues.

The show doesn’t follow a set story, but at no point does it claim to, nor do they hide this fact. Instead, you are transported into a pub where you meet their resident choir, learn each man’s story and hear of their struggles. The Choir of Man is a genuine piece of art that conveys the full range of human emotion, guiding you through the highest of highs down to crushing lows, but makes you leave feeling elated about life. The show claims to be an uplifting celebration of community and friendship where everyone is welcome, and whilst this sums parts of the production up nicely, they are almost selling themselves short.

Whilst the show does radiate such a positivity that you cannot help but embrace the feelings of community and friendship, it also tackles deeply emotional topics such as grief, mental health, the concept of home and gives one giant middle finger to toxic masculinity.

The show is a jukebox production like no other, as there is no real noticeable theme or genre that the songs follow. You only have to take a quick look at the artists whose songs are involved to get this point across. I mean, how many shows can feature both Guns N’ Roses and Katy Perry? Or both Luther Vandross and Scottish folk music? Yet through brilliant reimagining of the songs, paired with incredible stagemanship, this seemingly crazy track list works to perfection.