THE outstanding, energetic and entertaining production of Buddy has made a return to the Wyvern Theatre.

This show is faultless. It grabs your attention from the very start when we see Buddy Holly and The Crickets in a recording booth, and are told, without a doubt, that he wants to be known for rock ‘n’ roll, and not the Western music that everyone expects of him.

It wasn’t an easy path, but thank goodness, he persisted. Because without Buddy, there might not have been the Beatles or other such iconic groups.

The performers in this production, particularly the main star of the show Glen Joseph (who played the part of Buddy), were all so exceptional there is simply no room for improvement.

They couldn’t have been any better and the interaction between them all was so slick that it felt like they must have been performing these particular roles for the whole of their lives.

Miguel Angel, who played the part of an Apollo performer, really stood out as he had the sort of stage persona that is hard to come by. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

And Jordan Cunningham, who played Ritchie Valens, and Thomas Mitchells, as The Big Bopper, were captivating every time they graced the stage and had everyone in stitches.

This was very nearly a sold-out night at the Wyvern and you could feel the excitement and anticipation in the air throughout the whole show.

The people in the audience could not resist singing along to the many hits such as That’ll Be The Day, Oh Boy, Rave On, La Bamba, Chantilly Lace, Johnny B. Goode, Raining In My Heart, Everyday, Shout and Peggy Sue. And they definitely got their money’s worth as this was a jam-packed two -our production that just kept the energy flowing throughout.

One of the main things that I loved about this show was the fact that you were told a story and learnt about Buddy’s life as well as his music.

We all experienced the drama and excitement as he embarked on his rise to fame and then we had a taste of what his final legendary performance would have been like at The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. — KELLY JOBANPUTRA The way we were made to actually feel like the crowd of that last gig was brilliant and very clever and as they neared the end of the night, the crowd could not sit down anymore as the vast majority got on their feet to dance.

There were literally some people jiving in the aisles and I couldn’t help but smile as the feel good atmosphere was so infectious.

Buddy once said: “It’s not that i want to be rich. I just want the world to remember the name Buddy Holly.” Well i think it’s safe to say that happened without a doubt and judging by last night, his memory is still very much alive. The music hasn’t died at all.

Kelly Jobanputra