New Theatre, Peterborough – until Saturday 19th March 2022
Reviewed by Boo Wakefield
4****
For anyone whose formative years were in the 1980s, Footloose had a huge impact. The very catchy soundtrack rather blurs the memory of the story-line and with this in mind, it would be interesting to see how the film transferred to the stage at New Theatre, Peterborough.
Footloose is set in 1980 in a back of beyond town called Bomont and is based around a real story from the 1860s. After a tragic accident where four teenagers died, the Reverend Shaw Moore (Darren Day), who lost his son, insisted that no more dancing should be allowed in the town. After his father walks out, Ren McCormack (Joshua Hawkins) is forced to move to Bomont from Chicago with his mother to live with his uncle. Ren is a lively teenager who loves to dance so can’t believe that he is not allowed to. He makes friends with Willard Hewitt (Jake Quickenden) and Ren falls for the Reverend’s daughter, Ariel (Lucy Munden). Ren then decides that its time the dance ban should end.
Joshua Hawkins plays Ren with endless energy and enthusiasm which is slightly overshadowed by Quickenden’s comic portrayal of the rather goofy Willard who has no idea how to dance. His lumbersome movements and incredulous facial expressions along with the awkward on-stage relationship with Rusty (Oonagh Cox) were definite highlights. His timing was spotless, his vocals strong and note perfect, and he hit the mark with his accent. The image of him ripping off his dungarees to reveal tight gold hot pants will be hard to leave behind!
Although Day’s Reverend never stopped being the grieving but proud father, some of the bitterness he must have felt to have forced the ‘no dancing’ ban on the community was not there. Holly Ashton, playing his wife, came across as the forgotten soul in the story and sang beautifully particularly in “Can You Find It In Your Heart”.
Lucy Munden is playing Ariel Moore in her professional debut which she played with enormous confidence.
Throughout the performance the whole cast is fully included in every scene, from singing and dancing to playing most of the instruments whilst on stage, and moving the sets. Their enjoyment in this production is clear to see through their well-choreographed dance routines and chorus singing. And although the sets (Sara Perks) were clever, there were occasions where the dancers looked cramped and could have benefited from more space. The spots from the lighting were also a bit hit and miss.
Footloose has kept all the well-known songs – “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”, “Holding Out For A Hero” and of course “Footloose” which provided the toe-tapping, sing-a-long moments for the predominantly female audience. The story-line is remains overshadowed by the many songs for an entertaining evening. And those gold shorts………!