University Drama Studios Sheffield – until 21 September 2024
Reviewed by Carol Crann
4****
Footloose tells the story of a young man who moves from Chicago to a small town because his mother can no longer keep them both after her husband walked out on them – but many of you will already know that…
What he finds is a town, where joy is suppressed in response to an accident that had occurred five years previously, where four young people were killed after a night of drinking, drugs and dancing. As a result, the local preacher and council had outlawed drinking and dancing in order to try and control the young people in the community. Ren McCormack, played brilliantly by Josh Fishburn, battles the town on every level as he comes to terms with his own grief and guilt and tries to get the dancing ban lifted, Footloose follows that journey.
The set is minimalistic but works perfectly for all scenes of the show, with changes seamlessly portrayed by the use of appropriate props changed with a minimum of fuss throughout the performance, allowing the audience to make sure they concentrate on the cast.
This tale is predominantly one of a group young people who want to be able to express themselves, so it is rather appropriate that the performance was put together by Splinters Theatre Group – made up of people between the ages 14 and 30.
It is a musical with a couple of big 80’s numbers which were delivered with passion and enthusiasm by the mixed ability young cast. Ariel, the reverend’s rebellious daughter (played powerfully by Jessica Smith) delivered a gutsy rendition of Holding Out for a Hero, supported by Rusty (Cerys Wright), Urleen (Ruby Chu) and Wendy Jo (Maeve Hughes). The blossoming relationship between Ren and Ariel is a key part of the show and is the chemistry was palpable between the two young performers. For me, however, the standout performer was Lewis Spowage who played the initially, somewhat inept character Willard Hewitt. His comic timing was excellent throughout, and his facial expressions kept me mesmerised as we watched his character develop along with his relationship with his wannabe girlfriend.
The older roles provided a foil to the youthful exuberance of this talented cast, with the Reverend Shaw Moore (Dan Storey) seeking to make sense of a world where he just wanted to keep the young people safe – sadly, in the process, he lost his ability to communicate with them, most notably his daughter. Meanwhile, his wife, Vi Moore (Jen Horsefield) showed the believable emotional struggle between supporting the man and the daughter that she clearly loves.
A real positive element of the show was the choreography – clearly many hours were spent in order for it to be so effective with such a large cast, who performed it with such energy and commitment throughout that it was clear the audience wanted to join in.
Again Splinters have created a brilliant show that lives up to all expectations – I can only recommend that you go along to see them.