Tag Archives: Spice Girls

Viva Forever cocktail party with the Spice Girls, Harvey Nichols

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I made the decision not to blog on my birthday. The 5th February was going to be my day off, that is until I was invited to a private party in Harvey Nichols. My thoroughly modern alter ego sprang back into action and I replied to the invite with a resounding YES.

A select guest list made its way up to the fifth floor of Harvey Nichols. It was only midday but heels were out in force, make-up applied and best party frocks zipped up – this was not an ordinary lunchtime cocktail party. In the smart bar champagne flutes awaited in a rainbow array and photographers lingered. With cocktails and cake, we all celebrated the new Spice Girls inspired mixtures which accompany the hugely popular Viva Forever themed afternoon tea. Girls gossiped and tottered about exchanging excited opinions on their favourite flavours.

The five show-stopping cocktails are all Champagne based and created by Fifth Floor Bar Manager, Dominic Jacobs, with each drink highlighting the Girls’ most famous traits.

Tied up in individual bows, from Union Jack to leopard skin, the VIVA FOREVER! cocktails are priced at £14.50 each and available until the end of April.

Baby Spice – Peach puree and fresh strawberries, Harvey Nichols Champagne
Ginger Spice – Domaine de canton ginger liqueur, rose syrup topped with Champagne
Scary Spice – Fresh chilli, lychee liqueur topped with Champagne
Sporty Spice – Amaretto, curacao bleu and lemon juice topped with Champagne
Posh Spice – Apricot brandy, sugar cube soaked in grapefruit bitters, topped with Champagne

The new cocktails accompany the VIVA FOREVER! Afternoon Tea, available until the end of February. My favourite was the exotic Scary Spice variety with lychee and chilli… a sweet drink with a spicy kick. The Baby Spice cocktail is a simple fruity cocktail and the Posh Spice recipe offers something a little more sophisticated.

To eat, the luxury department store has created food and drinks with specific references to each of the five girl’s personalities:

Ginger and lemon layer cake with Union Jack decoration
Scary chilli chocolate roll with leopard printed chocolate discs
Zesty and energetic orange chocolate chip cake pop, inspired by Sporty’s love of Chupa Chups
A Posh Victoria sponge shopper
A sweet and innocent vanilla and raspberry mousse presented in a baby bottle

Alongside these sweets, afternoon tea guests are given cured beef and onion chutney poppy seed bagels, smoked chicken and carrot roulade, creamed smoked salmon on pumpernickel bread, an egg mayonnaise bridge roll and homemade winter spiced and plain scones with Champagne strawberry jam and clotted cream.

Writer and Producer of the show Jennifer Saunders and Judy Craymer attended to celebrate the cocktail launch, as well as most of the cast of the musical. Everyone was most excited to witness the arrival of the pop group themselves. Geri, Mel B, Emma and Mel C all honoured us with their presence, making the gaping hole for a missing Victoria Beckham very obvious.

It was a girly event – a feast of fun, food and cocktails and an opportunity to taste the imaginative Viva Forever afternoon tea. The perfect party for my 25th birthday, and an epic celebration of girl power.

More information here.

Viva Forever!, Piccadilly Theatre

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As a devoted Spice Girls fan, I had big expectations for the new Viva Forever musical. And despite the fond revival of many fabulous and familiar pop songs the script is a disappointing vehicle for the band’s hits. Much like We Will Rock You and Mamma Mia, Viva Forever is a musical based on the songs, this time of the Spice Girls, and not a story about them. I soon began to wonder if the latter would have made a better show.

I have always rated Jennifer Saunders and her hilarious contribution to British comedy, so I really expected more from her script that is largely unfunny and unconvincing. We watch X-Factor come to life on stage – the banter, the drama, the judges and the music. Focused on the journey of young Viva’s career to stardom the narrative follows her ups and downs, emphasising the inevitable cost of fame, and how it affects the important relationships in her life. The Spice Girls songs are slotted in with varying levels of relevance, some work (a brilliantly funny placement of Two Become One) and some really don’t.

The cast are good, with a few stand out performances. It is a tricky task to bring this narrative and weak characters to life, and they manage to make much of the show entertaining when credibility is not an option. I particularly noticed the wonderful Hatty Preston who brings life to the role of Minty, she has exceptional comic timing and my eye was drawn to her whenever she was on stage. The mums are great too, Sally Ann Triplett as Lauren and Lucy Montgomery as Suzi. Leading lady Hannah John-Kamen (Viva) has a great voice but I found the constant hand gestures a real distraction.

The best part of the evening comes at the end, after the curtain call, when the whole cast dance and sing merrily to the Spice Girls’ biggest hits. At last it feels like a celebration of the music.

I hope Viva Forever! doesn’t disappoint too many die-hard Spice Girls fans. Though the narrative is a flop, I must admit I enjoy dancing in my seat and reminiscing about the girl band who were so important to me in my childhood.

Viva Forever continues until 1 June 2013, book here.