This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub: https://www.thereviewshub.com/just-for-one-day-the-live-aid-musical-shaftesbury-theatre-london/

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Over 40 years ago, moved by the horrific scenes on his television set, Bob Geldof had a vision to try and use music as a way to bring people together and eradicate the hunger of those in Ethiopia. In the end, putting together this vision was far more complicated than the lead singer of The Boomtown Rats believed, but Band Aid’s story thrives in Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical.

Revived following its debut at the Old Vic in 2024, the musical tracks the establishment of Band Aid, and the subsequent, iconic, Live Aid concert, and uses dozens of hit songs from the concert and its artists to retell the story, focusing closely on the community spirit and sense of collective responsibility along the way. This is initially seen through the eyes of Suzanne (Melissa Jacques), who is retelling the events to her Gen-Z, university-bound daughter Jemma (Fayth Ifil). It is a little tenuous, but the mother-daughter backstory does help the production to explore, especially through Suzanne’s growing activism in her younger years, the sense of moral justice the Band Aid movement evoked during the 80s.

This is interwoven with Geldof’s (Craige Els) own story, charting his desire to help and exploring the immense toll the event and its purpose took on him. Although a jukebox musical, this piece aims to do more than just blast out the hits of the era, which, in fairness, it does quite well, but it also seeks to provoke conversation and action.

The combination of Suzanne’s story, of a teenager swept up in the energy of Band Aid, seeing her heroes coming together for a common cause, and the activism it inspires in her, with Geldof’s own work, is used by O’Farrell’s script to try and explore how the population not in the upper echelons of society also came together in this moment. It is a nice idea to explore the power of not just the rich and famous, but also of the average person, and the piece tries to evoke the idea that anyone can provoke change, especially in scenes where Suzanne cobbles together her savings to flog the Band Aid single in her town the with some success.

One element the production does not shy away from too much is some of the decisions taken by Band Aid,  and it examines them in the context of 2025. Youthful Jemma quizzes the lyrics of the hit which kicked the movement off, Do They Know It’s Christmas, questioning Geldof about its appropriateness, and it is also through Jemma’s character, created successfully by Ifil, that the criticisms about grouping the complex problems in single African countries as a more general ‘Africa’ problem also appear. This works to some success, though the production never fully embraces some of these criticisms, steering the piece back to blasting out hit after hit in a roaring conclusion.

Els’ Geldof is more than just an impression of the singer. Els’ portrayal, initially typically sweary and provocative, is also heartfelt and demonstrates the angst and desperation the singer felt, especially after his trip to a famine-devastated Ethiopia.  He’s aided here by Red Cross nurse Amara (portrayed superbly by Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky, who does a brilliant job of reminding us of the atrocities Geldof is trying to fix, and the naivety that such devastating events can be fixed in one go). This is a particularly striking moment which the production delivers well, choosing to extinguish the entire theatre’s lighting apart from a singular spotlight on Geldof, retelling with brutal clarity the devastating scenes he saw of starving children, with this monologue, pitched perfectly, a deft touch by writer John O’Farrell, forcing audiences to picture in their minds a horror that Geldof is still struck by almost half a century later.

It is a piece that uses its music not just to hit home its message, but also to light up some of the comedic moments, too. This is mostly seen through Geldof’s tricky relationship with then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, portrayed here by a brilliant Julie Atherton. Her delivery of the Iron Lady is more than just a parody, with fans of Elton John’s I’m Still Standing inevitably struggling to hear the hit in the same way after Thatcher’s take on it in this piece. This is a great example of what the production does so well, which is to integrate iconic, recognisable hits into a coherent story, rather than just performing them for the sake of it. It is for this reason that the ping pong ‘Mrs T/Mr G’ dialogue between Geldof and Thatcher feels a little clumsy, though it is nice that O’Farrell has drawn from Geldof’s experiences with the Prime Minister to let us peek behind the curtain at what went on between them.

Undoubtedly, though, it is the music that takes this production to such a high point. Musically, this is a spectacular performance delivered remarkably by a superb ensemble, who all get their moments to shine in bringing an incredible selection of 80s hits to the stage. The choice to avoid just copying the work of the artists works well here, not just enabling the aforementioned blending of music with story, but also injecting new life and energy into each memorable number. By the time the amps start to boom as the concert gets underway, it is impossible not to be pumped up for Live Aid yourself, with the production doing a good job of letting audiences indulge in the music first before hitting home some of its heavier messages. There are over 30 songs in this piece, some play longer than others, which does jar a little, but the soundtrack to this musical is sensational and very well-chosen.

The musical’s design also hits the high notes. Andrzej Goulding’s video and projection design superbly evokes the slightly blurry, neon, videos of Channel 4’s The Tube, a nice nod to Geldof’s wife, Paula Yates, and the BBC’s Top of the Tops, while Ebony Molina’s electric choreography is brought to life with stunning ease by the cast. Visually, this musical is the spectacle the iconic concert deserves.

Just For One Day is more than just a nostalgia trip for those gripped by the energy and excitement of seeing the world’s greatest musical acts all in one place. Indeed, it is easy to get swept up in the musical chaos of the piece; it’s loud, raucous and completely entertaining throughout almost all its numbers, yet the piece also attempts to continue the activism of Band Aid, and those it inspired further.

While the piece does not fully explore the obvious flaws and contradictions in some of the movement’s choices, and starting with David Bowie’s Heroes perhaps is a bit too on the nose and self-congratulatory, this is a rip-roaring musical that has a much stronger message than your typical jukebox piece. Although you are invited to rock out with them by the end, the movement’s message about compassion, empathy and, to ‘feed the world’, is never too far away.