Boogie Nights

Many thanks to Blackpool and Fylde Light Operatic Society for inviting me along to see ‘Boogie Nights’ at The Grand Theatre in Blackpool, written by Jon Conway, on Thursday 23rd June 2022. This was a great, light-hearted production which had the audience up singing and dancing.  

One thing I loved about this performance was the immersive experience the audience were thrown into from the get-go. The society had the cast fully dressed in retro gear at the door, fully in character, I was very pleasantly met by Catherine Bradley who enthusiastic escorted me into the theatre, where I had my hand stamped on the way in. Director, Howard Raw was some comparing and delivering some 1970 nostalgia, dressed quite fabulously in a 1970s white suit number, fitted with (quite high) platform shoes. A couple of times, we had the cast running through the auditorium and into the entrance to the discotheque, which was positioned onstage.  

Chris Cooper, playing the door attendant, Baz, added some banter, then the lights dimmed and then we were thrown back to the 1970 with the opening number. This show lends itself very well to such an informal introduction, the story is light, almost fickle, and is designed to entertain and get the audience taking part; almost in a pantomime style. Breaking the barrier between the audience and show from the start meant we had the audience vocalising their appreciation` of the gags and chosen musical numbers within the production. 

I feel like Howard achieved wonderful things with this production. He shaped the show in such a way which has the audience with the cast. There are a few subtle messages of male chauvinism throughout the show, which if the show was poorly directed, could easily offend. The audience was reacting to these lines vocally, as if it was banter. Staging was well executed, mixing up naturalist, tableau, split staging, with great rapport and unity within the cast. 

Choreography was provided by Danielle Woodhouse. This was brilliant, working with some very skilled dancers, I particularly would like to call out Courtney Staff and Julia Munro on this front, who executed some technical, fast paced choreography perfect precision, their performances were so tight and economic. I loved Danielle’s use off repetition, motifs and variations that happened throughout the performance, it added to the cohesion of the show. By far, my favourite number was the finale, where all cast members, if differing technical and physical abilities, had a moment to shine. Great work Danielle!! 

The Musical Direction was provided by Dave Thomas, who also led the band, “Love Machine.” who brough to life all of the much loved, well known musical numbers throughout the show. It was orchestrated very well and there was great balance between instrumentation and vocals. It was great to have the band at the back of the stage and bringing them into the action. 

There was no expense spared on lighting up this production, provided by Bright Light UK. I love the enormous light up dance floor! To highlight the element of fun within the production, there were lots of moving beams of different vibrant colours, which also added to the club feel. There were some great moments in the show where Roddy snapped his fingers to freeze the onstage action and talk directly to the audience. These were excellently emphasised by snap to blue floods with a spot on Roddy. Some of the timings of these snaps were a little delayed, but the effect it created was great. I particularly loved the addition of par cans which were used throughout the show. They added to the concert feel of the show and worked particularly well when used to full effect at the end of the show. 

Setting and properties were provided by Junction 4 productions, which were quite minimal, yet added context to the scenes. I thought the 2 decorated flats either side of the stage for the scenes at Eamon’s and Deb’s home emphasised era and character well. I also loved the doorway to the discotheque and the funky DJ area upstage in the moments in the club 

Costumes were designed by Joe Booth and Charlie Ashton. All costumes were fitting to the era, emphasised character and provided a great element of fun to the show. I felt the costume design for Lorraine was spectacular and highlighted the diva within this character, I think the Red Dress and the Sparkly silver one made Helen stunning. At the interval there was a fancy-dress completion, judged by members of the audience. The detail of these were extraordinary. I thought Pinocchio's nose was hilarious! 

All 32 cast members provided great energy and commitment to the production. Synchronisation and rapport were also consistent. All characterisations were believable and there was good diction throughout.  There were a few notable performances, deliberated below, but all cast members, leads, ensemble and dancers should be proud of their performances. 

Jordan Walker Smith gave a sterling performance as Roddy, who was the lead of the show and the narrator. His cockney accent was on point, he had charm to spare, and always had a cheeky grin on his face, which added to the charm. There were so many moments I could call out, but I must note all the ad libs, which were provided seamlessly and added so many gags to the show. I also loved the whole number of ‘Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” this was one of my favourite moments of the show. The vocals were en-pointe, the lighting was superb with multiple vertical blue spots projecting down on to the stage, and the ensemble positioned dotted in 2 diagonals leading from Jordan upstage centre on a platform, leading down stage and along the 2 stairways off the stage on the right and left. This was a lovely contrast to the high energy buzz of the rest of the show. 

Roddy had 2 love interests in the show. Hannah Ayres gave a solid and believable performance as Debs, his initial girlfriend. Her singing voice was amazing, and she took the character on a nice journey of love, expectation and disappointment and dealt with the sensitive issue of miscarriage in a quite honest fasion. There was great light and shade to this character. The antagonist of the love story, Lorraine, was played by Helen O’Neill. I loved the sass and flare she brought to the character and really shone throughout the show. Her vocal ability is phenomenal and delivered some good range and vocal tones throughout the performance. I need to call out the duet at the end of act 2, “Last Dance / Reach Out” and “Enough is enough” as being exceptional. Both were performed by Hannah and Helen. Their strong voices suited these numbers so well and blended perfectly together! 

Mike Donnelon played Roddy’s dad, Eamon. Mike’s comic timing in this role was brilliant and had me laughing every time he was onstage. There were some good dynamics created for the role, showing a multidimensional character.  His performance of “Always on my mind” was brilliantly sung in mourning to the 2 loves of his life, his wife and Elvis, showing some of the versatility he brought to the character. 

The biggest standout performance for me was Rowan Keane’s portrayal of Roddy's best friend, Terry. Rowan’s energetic performance was maintained throughout the production and his goofy characterisation had me in stiches throughout the show. He embodied this characterisation throughout movement, dialogue and song. His falsetto in “Sugar Baby Love” was outstanding. He was an absolute joy to watch perform. 

Many thanks to Blackpool and Fylde Light Operatic Company once again for having me at this show and I look forwards to seeing more work from this society. 

  

 

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