Review: JUST FOR ONE DAY at the Shaftesbury Theatre

Date: 13th September 2025

Where: Shaftesbury Theatre, London

Stars: 4

There are jukebox musicals, and then there’s Just for One Day, which barrels on stage waving a charity bucket and demanding you join the chorus. It’s not subtle, but then neither was Live Aid. The show takes the most famous concert of the 1980s and asks a simple question: what happens if you put that kind of global chaos, ego and hope into a West End theatre? The answer is loud, occasionally messy, but often exhilarating.

John O’Farrell’s book threads a personal story through the spectacle, using Suzanne, a woman remembering her teenage day at Live Aid, and her daughter Jemma, who sees the whole thing with modern eyes. It’s a useful device, giving the show a pulse beyond the guitar riffs. Without it, the evening might risk becoming little more than a playlist with better lighting.

Speaking of which, Soutra Gilmour’s set and costumes nail the 1980s without drowning in nostalgia. A wall of scaffolding and video screens keeps the story moving, while Howard Hudson’s lighting bathes the stage in a near-constant concert glow. It’s big, brash, and sometimes a bit much, but then again so was Live Aid. The sound design by Gareth Owen makes sure you feel every bass line in your chest, whether you want to or not.

Not everything lands. The tonal shifts can be abrupt: one minute you’re laughing at a quip about perms, the next you’re plunged into a reminder of famine in Ethiopia. The balance between fun and sincerity sometimes wobbles. And because the show tries to squeeze in so many legendary acts, some scenes feel more like sketches than stories. But when the music hits – when the whole cast belts out “Message in a Bottle” or “Bohemian Rhapsody” – the theatre shakes with the kind of communal joy you can’t fake.

Just for One Day isn’t a perfect musical, and it doesn’t need to be. It’s a celebration, a reminder of what it felt like when millions of people decided, however briefly, that music could change the world. You leave with your ears ringing, your head full of choruses, and maybe even the faintest sense that theatre, like Live Aid itself, works best when it’s a little rough around the edges but fuelled by heart.

Tickets are available here: https://www.shaftesburytheatre.com/events/just-for-one-day-live-aid-musical/