Aylesbury Waterside – until Saturday 17th June 2023
Reviewed by Julia Spargo
1*
Scott Hastings is a successful Australian ballroom dancer who brings his own moves to competitions. When his dance partner leaves him out of frustration, Scott pairs up with beginner dancer Fran, who comes from a Spanish family with a flamenco background. Scott’s mother, ambitious for her son to achieve what she never managed in the ballroom world, is determined that he should dance with a professional partner in order to win the Pan Pacific Championships title. Scott learns, through Fran and her family, to feel the rhythm of the music rather than just dance rehearsed steps, and he and Fran are able to break free of ballroom traditions, falling in love in the process.
Families from opposite sides of the tracks and dance partners becoming romantic partners are familiar tropes, featuring in Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Shall We Dance, Dirty Dancing and of course, the original Strictly Ballroom movie, directed by Baz Luhrmann. Here, Baz Luhrmann returns to co-write this musical (with Craig Pearce), and with choreography by Craig Revel Horwood and Jason Gilkison (both Titans of Strictly Come Dancing), I was expecting to be wowed. Sadly, I was left underwhelmed. Strictly Ballroom The Musical can best be described as chaos dripping in glitter. A large cast with troubling wigs and gaudy costumes whizz about the stage with no coherence. The lighting is frantic. The acting borders on hysterical. The humour falls short and there is no light and shade, both figuratively and literally. A musical about the superficial, messy world of ballroom would have been better served by highlighting the tackiness with slower, calmer moments of truth, but these were few and far between. Some scenes (including one with a not-subtle hint of fellatio and four male dancers in their Y-fronts) made no sense at all. More than once I wished everyone would just take a breath. Scene changes were quick. Dialogue was rushed. Kevin Clifton as Scott Hastings was competent as a dancer and singer but overshadowed by Faye Brookes as Fran, who brings verve to the role.
The climax of the first act is a great scene where Fran’s father, Rico, shows Scott how to dance. Stylianos Thomadakis as Rico shines above every other dancer on the stage with his incredible paso doble. The entire cast joins in a joyous celebration of Latin dance. It gave me hope for the second half.
Sadly, it was not matched again. I enjoy camp, glamour and comedy but this fell short for me.