**The Emerald Theatre - Selected dates from 13 January to 24 March 2026**

Whilst the TuckShop Adult Drag Panto, Snow White was not a wholly unexpected way to end my year of theatre reviews in 2025, the start of 2026 proved all the more surprising given I found myself back at the same theatre exactly three weeks later, for the press night of The Van Morrison Alumni Band at they start their 14 date weekly residency at The Emerald Theatre. Though obviously more ‘gig’ than ‘theatre’, (although it could be argued that this was actually more ‘show’ than ‘gig’), the 7 strong group of musicians, who between them have actually worked with Van Morrison on more than 3000 concerts around the world, worked their way through the main man’s vast back catalogue of songs ably assisted by a rotating cast of lead vocal talents that included Hayley Sanderson, (a lead vocalist from Strictly Come Dancing), Jess Greenfield, (currently supplying vocals for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds) and Wayne Hernandes, (who had previously provided vocals for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Tina Turner and Quincey Jones). The line up was further completed by two backing vocalists, (Sophie Hiller and Tess Burrstone) who supplied full and rich harmonies throughout.

“Do we have fans of Van Morrison in tonight?” asked our host for the evening, saxophonist and broadcaster Leo Green who, other than walking us through various stories relating to Van Morrison - the man and his music, he was also a prime example of the calibre of musicianship that graced the stage. Other than playing with Morrison himself, Green has also played with the likes of Jeff Beck, Lisa Stansfield, Jools Holland and, somewhat to my surprise, on one of my favourite albums of 2002, Out Of Season by Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man. (Remember that one kids?). To be honest, despite priding myself on something of an eclectic taste in music, I probably had a closer affinity to more of those other artists I’ve just name-checked than to Morrison himself… or so I thought, because as the evening progressed I found myself recognising hit after hit after hit. Despite this, Green’s opening enquiry about Morrison fans had made it quite easy to spot the other theatre critics in the audience, their muted response a tell-tale sign that they were more ‘on duty’ than here to celebrate some mighty fine music at this pop-up church of Morrison. Fortunately there were more than enough dedicated fans in the audience to bring plenty of energy to the room, although it was clear Leo Green had more than enough energy for everyone, his highly animated performance being nothing less than firing on all thrusters from the first note to the last!

I have previously waxed lyrical about the beautiful venue that this all took place in during my review for Snow White, (see review) and so I won’t bang on about it again here, suffice to say it really showed it’s versatility by being just as well suited to the rich, genre bending blend of Celtic soul, R&B, blues, jazz, fold and rock of Van Morrison as it was for a big ol’ camp Drag panto, it’s recent £2million refurbishment giving it all the Art Deco inspired splendour of a New York speakeasy from the twenties, and the perfect location for an evening of Van Morrison’s greatest hits.

With over one thousand songs to his credit it was clear the evenings playlist was going to have to be carefully curated, which on the whole it was. The first half kicked off with Moondance after which the hits just kept on coming, including Crazy Love, Sweet Thing, And It Stoned Me, concluding with Days Like This before the half-time intermission. The second half also started well, with two songs performed by the incredible talented Jess Greenfield on vocals, Did He Get Healed and Whenever God Shines His Light. However, despite repeatedly teasing the audience with the promise of guaranteed crowd pleaser Brown Eyed Girl, the dynamic pace that the evening had so far built up was somewhat interrupted by the inclusion of what I can only imagine is possibly a fan favourite deep-cut from Morrison’s back catalogue, Summertime In England, the original recorded version of which is over 15 minutes long. Whilst this was clearly a moment where the musicians could indulge themselves in what could best be described as something of a jam, by the end, (I didn’t time it, but I would be surprised if it was any shorter than the recorded version), it was actually the audience who were shouting out their requests for Brown Eyed Girl to get this party back on track. Unfortunately several audience members weren’t able to stick around long enough for the promised classic, given that the show was now overrunning, and I assume that those from beyond the farthest reaches of the underground had trains to negotiate. Whilst I totally understand that for some this might have been a rare opportunity to hear a song seldom played live, for anyone other than a hard core Morrison fan it bordered on being a borderline moment of indulgence unlikely to convert the uninitiated into Morrison fans. Other than that, this was an incredibly enjoyable night for both Morrison fans and those that, like me, didn’t realise just how much of his music had managed to penetrated their psyche without even knowing it.

In an age where emerging vocalists can often be found performing to backing tracks, and Ai seems more than ready to even remove them from the picture, it was a real treat to see a band of seasoned musicians of the highest calibre perform live with such passion and tight precision.

The Band:

Leo Green (Sax)

Matt Holland (Trumpet)

Alec Dankworth & Steve Pearce (Bass)

Robin Aspland (Piano)

Geoff Dunn (Drums)

and will be joined by: Matt White (Guitar)

★★★★