Spend Spend Spend is an entertaining production of a musical about a woman who was arguably the first victim of the cycle of media fame and persecution. It is beautifully sung, movingly performed, the dancing is great, and it’s extremely funny. But it would be a tragedy were it not for the extraordinary character of the protagonist, Viv Nicholson.  

In 1936, Nicholson was born Vivian Asprey into a poor family in Castleford, a Yorkshire mining town. She became pregnant at 16 and married the father, subsequently falling in love with her next door neighbour’s son, Keith Nicholson, when she was 18. She left her husband and married Nicholson, had three more children and, miners’ wages being what they were, lived hand to mouth. Then, in 1961 when Viv was 24, the couple won an unprecedented £152,000 on the football pools. That equates to about £4.5 million now.  

The press were all over it, and Nicholson, when asked what she was going to do with it all, said “spend, spend, spend”. And that’s what Nicholson and her husband did. Today’s lottery winners receive support to help them deal with life-changing sums, but the Nicholsons got nothing. After Keith died in a car accident in 1964, things began to go badly wrong, and the tabloids were all over that too.  

Steve Brown and Justin Greene’s Spend Spend Spend tells this rags to riches and back to rags story through the eyes of a much older Viv, who has come through it all and out the other side. Older Viv is played by Rachel Leskovac who portrayed Young Viv in the West End production in 1999 and was nominated for an Olivier Award. She leads us through the show with a philosophical eye, wry humour, and the benefit of hindsight. Leskovac met Nicholson, who died in 2015, when she was rehearsing for the West End and says in the programme that “what you saw was what you got…there was no judgement, no façade”. And that’s what we get. Leskovac’s Nicholson has a resilience and ‘best foot forward’ approach that creates enormous sympathy among the audience. 

Watching Young Viv, brilliantly played by Rose Galbraith, descend from 16-year-old innocence and curiosity to 40-something experience and alcoholism some five husbands later is quite a journey, and we are with her every step of the way. She makes mistakes but never stops fighting, and her transformation into the sober Older Viv is entirely believable. Galbraith and Leskovac were given a well-deserved standing ovation on press night. 

They are helped by an ensemble of ‘triple threats’ – actors who can sing, dance and act particularly well, often all at the same time. Casting has done a great job. Wardrobe and wigs are also to be congratulated; the quick changes and character transformations are split-second. Responsibility for all this must land with director Josh Seymour, designer Grace Smart, choreographer Lucy Hind and the other creatives. And well done to the Royal Exchange for putting this team together, it’s good to see the organisation back on form.  

Spend Spend Spend is not an obvious pick for a Christmas show, but perhaps a show that makes you ask what you really need to be happy is exactly the right choice. And it’s great fun. 

By Chris Wallis, Theatre Editor

Main image: Rose Galbraith and the ensemble of Spend Spend Spend. Photo credit: Helen Murray.

 

Spend Spend Spend is at the Royal Exchange, Manchester until January 11, 2025. For more information, click here.