Theatre Royal, Brighton – until 26th February 2022
Reviewed by Sue Bradley and François Craig
4****
This show is great fun
From the opening chords of the familiar Footloose theme-tune to the well deserved encore, the cast threw themselves into their performance with delight and the crowd responded on their feet, shouting for more. For anyone not familiar with the film, from which this show is adapted, the plot is straightforward: big-city young man (Ren McCormack, played by Joshua Hawkins) moves to a rather buttoned-down small town with a tragic back-story. Initially, the rebellious Ren causes trouble as he comes to terms with his new environment but gradually wins his classmates over with his lively and irreverent attitude. This puts him and his classmates at odds with the local elders, and the remainder of the show is about how these differences can be reconciled.
ITV’s ‘Dancing On Ice‘ winner (2018) Jake Quickenden, as Willard Hewitt, provides plenty of comic moments including some fine “bad” dancing before he finally “learns”. He also leads a wonderful comic number “Mama Says”. Darren Day as the Reverend Shaw Moore brings a welcome gravitas to the role and is a worthy “opponent” for the “I Can’t Stand Still” Ren.
A glance at the programme beforehand might lead you to think that the band consisted of just two musicians, and therefore you could expect the rest of the music to be pre-recorded. Not a bit of it. Just before the show started, an announcer let us know that all the instruments were to be played by members of the cast. And very well played they were too, with many of the actors performing on multiple instruments, ranging from gentle piano and flute, through raunchy sax to rock’n’roll guitar – and usually played on-stage, using radio mikes. Featuring familiar hits like “Footloose”, “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” and “Holding Out For a Hero”, the show is also stuffed with new songs which are good enough to not leave you waiting for the next familiar tune. “Learning To Be Silent” is a fine example of a three-voice show song, whilst “Somebody’s Eyes” surprises with shades of Steely Dan and Hall and Oates and made this reviewer’s ears prick up happily. The standard of singing was uniformly high. The solo parts were taken by a number of different cast members and the chorus singing was also strong and accomplished.
Special mention is due to Darren Day and Holly Ashton as Vi Moore, whose performances were emotional and moving without ever being saccharin. A mention should also go to the sound-person – this is a rock and pop show and the sound levels were satisfyingly loud but never overwhelming; the music and vocals were well-balanced throughout.
Live music should always sound this good!