Disco Inferno

People of a certain age will remember the long hot summer of 1976 when temperatures exceeded those we are experiencing at the moment and continued for months, this was also the summer when disco took the world by storm and fashions were hot pants, flares and Oxford Bags, I remember having a pair of these myself, not the Hot Pants!

This year also saw the action of Disco Inferno which contains such memorable numbers as Celebration, If You Leave me Now, The Village People songs and many, many more. This tells the story of Jack, a would be singer and entertainer who works at a bar collecting glasses etc.

In the lead role James Worthington was perfect, his voice lending to the various songs in the show which were both disco and heavy rock, James was also able to show off his acting talents which considering this was his first leading role he was nothing short of excellent. In his strive to live his dreams Jack tried unsuccessfully to impress his boss, Duke, the owner of the club where he worked.

Duke was played expertly by Alex Haywood Browne who managed to get the right amount of pathos, comedy and anger in order to pull this off.

James was very ably supported by his groups of mates, Tom and Terry which were also played effortlessly by Niall Wragg and Scott Walker respectively, both being able to show off their singing, acting and comedic skills much to the delight of the entire audience.

Jack also has a love interest in this show, Jane who to say he does not treat very well in much of the show is an understatement but as with all shows love conquers all in the end and Jack ends up once again with Jane played to the full by Ellie Needham whose singing, dancing and acting thrilled the audience.

Jack also has a rival in the guise of Heathcliffe who from the start of the show is the entertainer that Jack strives to be, however Heathcliffe is not a very nice man and is ruthless in order to keep his job. Heathcliffe was superbly played by James Parkin who was able to strut around the stage owning every part of it and looking very much like a young Rod Stewart. Playing opposite Heathcliffe was Elsa Russell as Kathy the lover who was always there for him but also who was never shown any affection, Elsa was another perfect choice and was able to get everything out of this part.

I mentioned earlier that Jack was a would be entertainer and when an offer was given to him to succeed in this quest he eagerly took it up not realising Lady Marmalade who made the offer was actually working on behalf of The Devil and made the offer at a price. Lady Marmalade was in the more than capable hands of Tara Kulbatski who was able to sing and act to deliver the goods, she also had an accomplice, Nic, who is introduced to Jack as a theatrical agent but in truth was another “employee” of the Devil. Clair Stokes was more than able to portray this character to the full.

There were also some great comedy moments in this show, I have already mentioned Tom and Terry but there were also some good performances from Ellen Lindley as Maggie and Mike Richardson as a very camp Lilly.

All the principals were supported by a more than capable chorus who showed off their skills in the many dance routines as well as delivering some fine singing.

The production team of Mary Newey, Jamie Brown, Amber Parry, Marilyn Barker and Ellen Hindley must be very pleased at the final result as I am sure the entire audience were who were literally dancing in the aisles in such numbers as YMCA, Streetlife, Boogie Nights and many more. 

Jack also has a rival in the guise of Heathcliffe who from the start of the show is the entertainer that Jack strives to be, however Heathcliffe is not a very nice man and is ruthless in order to keep his job. Heathcliffe was superbly played by James Parkin who was able to strut around the stage owning every part of it and looking very much like a young Rod Stewart. Playing opposite Heathcliffe was Elsa Russell as Kathy the lover who was always there for him but also who was never shown any affection, Elsa was another perfect choice and was able to get everything out of this part.

I mentioned earlier that Jack was a would be entertainer and when an offer was given to him to succeed in this quest he eagerly took it up not realising Lady Marmalade who made the offer was actually working on behalf of The Devil and made the offer at a price. Lady Marmalade was in the more than capable hands of Tara Kulbatski who was able to sing and act to deliver the goods, she also had an accomplice, Nic, who is introduced to Jack as a theatrical agent but in truth was another “employee” of the Devil. Clair Stokes was more than able to portray this character to the full.

There were also some great comedy moments in this show, I have already mentioned Tom and Terry but there were also some good performances from Ellen Lindley as Maggie and Mike Richardson as a very camp Lilly.

All the principals were supported by a more than capable chorus who showed off their skills in the many dance routines as well as delivering some fine singing.

The production team of Mary Newey, Jamie Brown, Amber Parry, Marilyn Barker and Ellen Hindley must be very pleased at the final result as I am sure the entire audience were who were literally dancing in the aisles in such numbers as YMCA, Streetlife, Boogie Nights and many more.

 

 

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