The Great British Bake Off Musical reviews

Reviews have dropped for the West End production of The Great British Bake Off Musical in London – what did the critics make of it?

Inspired by the iconic TV show of the same name, The Great British Bake Off Musical opened at the Noël Coward Theatre this week.

The new musical has original songs by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole) with direction by Rachel Kavanaugh.

On the cast are Haydn Gwynne and John Owen Jones as judges Pam Lee and Phil Hollinghurst with Zoe Birkett and Scott Paige playing presenters Kim and Jim. Themed around an episode of the show, the bakers are played by Grace Mouat, Claire Moore, Catriana Sandison, Charlotte Wakefield, Damian Humbley, Jay Saighal, Michael Cahill and Aharon Rayner.

So what did the critics have to say?

The Great British Bake Off Musical reviews

The Times – 4/5
“Yes, the West End incarnation is still as soft-centred as an eclair, but only an arch-curmudgeon could take offence at a celebration of a great British institution. If the storyline makes Love Island look like King Lear, the songs are witty, and Rachel Kavanaugh’s production is suffused with a self-deprecating sense of the ridiculous.” – Read the full review

The Telegraph – 4/5
“This slick, colourful musical adaptation of the all-conquering TV contest has an irresistibly sure sense of that show’s entertainment value.” – Read the full review

WhatsOnStage – 4/5
“Will it win Oliviers? Probably not. But it also probably never wants to. Some characters feel more wafer-thin than others and the ending doesn’t quite get the showstopper it might have liked, but Bake Off is a guaranteed feel-good night-out that achieves everything it sets out to do. The musical you never knew you kneaded.” – Read the full review

The Independent – 3/5
“As you’d hope, the show, written by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, is heaps of fun and full of cracking songs. The more serious stuff might be a little saccharine, but you’ll leave with your appetite satisfied.” – Read the full review

The Stage – 3/5
“Baking puns at the ready, everyone: is it just what we knead, does it rise to the occasion, is it half-baked? Well, none of the above, really. In a cheery production by Rachel Kavanaugh, it is a perfectly decent musical. But it can never quite work out what it wants to be.” – Read the full review

London Evening Standard – 2/5
“The latest addition to the growing list of unnecessary musical adaptations should carry a content warning for diabetics. Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary’s show tries to channel the plucky amateurism, warmth and end-of-the-pier innuendo of the TV baking competition but the results are wilfully lame and cloyingly saccharine.” – Read the full review

The Independent – 3/5
“As you’d hope, the show, written by Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, is heaps of fun and full of cracking songs. The more serious stuff might be a little saccharine, but you’ll leave with your appetite satisfied.” – Read the full review

The Great British Bake Off musical plays Noël Coward Theatre, London currently booking through to 13 May 2023.

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