All those shows and performances for this?
On one level,
Let It Shine was a crowd-pleasing Saturday night talent show that helped showcase some of the most exciting young performers in the country. On another, it was millions of pounds' worth of free advertising (at the licence fee payer's expense) for Gary Barlow's new theatrical production.
Now that may seem an especially cynical point of view and maybe it is a tad unfair. After all, what's the real harm if the viewers have been enthralled and entertained by the weekly storylines of excited hopefuls, and the contestants themselves are given a golden chance to shine in the limelight?
Well it does start to feel like we've all been shortchanged when you delve into the reality of the situation. Hands up who thought that winning act
Five to Five were going to play the members of Take That - or least a pop group of some sort - in the touring theatre show?
No? Well at the very least they'd be starring cast members in some way, shape or form? Not really? Okay, well...they get a show-stopping number to themselves and few lines each, surely? Nope.
The truth is that the young hopefuls who make up
Five to Five won't have any spoken lines in the production at all. Not one. Instead, according to
The Stage, they'll essentially be the chorus line. The main story is about five 16-year-old girls who are fans of Take That.
Which makes you wonder why the show was hyped up as being such a life-changing opportunity for a group of talented kids who very likely won't even be able to branch out alone because they'll be under contract and likely exclusivity clauses. So much for letting them shine...
https://twitter.com/HylandIan/status/838471189848866817
https://twitter.com/julesywoolsey/status/838474706609127424
https://twitter.com/1966MJG/status/838474471317127179
https://twitter.com/katsitter/status/838472352824455172
https://twitter.com/LauLauWeston/status/838504354948730881
https://twitter.com/JonCrossland1/status/838477124973494272
https://twitter.com/John_Mather/status/838471562001010689
https://twitter.com/ENankervis/status/838478838061490177
https://twitter.com/Pat13Langho/status/838476678686965763
