Footloose

Footloose is a musical well suited to the width of the Middleton arena stage. Minimal set was used so it was up to HeyKids to really bring the musical to life. Under the Musical Direction of Chris Addington, the soloists were strong with some good sustainability, the harmonies were slick and tight, a new found confidence could be heard in all the vocals from all the cast. Chris ably kept a nice control of the band whilst at the same time playing keys 1. The pace was good and the sound balance between the band and the vocals was nice and even. Choreographer Vicky Bamford built on Chris`s foundation and added a further layer of energetic choreography to challenge the cast. The cast rose to the challenge and the show bounced along, all choreography appeared to be executed well with some nice use of stage space. The lighting plot was interesting with some very pretty washes and mixes, personally I would however have liked a bit more contrast outside Reverend Shaw`s house as I was a bit unsure about what time of day it was.

Wesley Mottershead played Reverend Shaw. He gave a very strong characterisation and had a good connection with the audience, diction was good, he gave some strong facial expressions, there was some good chemistry between him and Courtney Mclean playing Ariel Moore. Courtney showed us a good range of emotions and certainly pulled off the teenage strop well in the iconic red boots. She showed us some strong vocals and a nice understanding of light and shade . George Ireland played Ren McCormack, he was Ariel`s love interest, the onstage chemistry between the two castmates was very evident to the audience, he had some nice vocals and made a strong connection with the audience. Rhiannon Thompson, Ava Astin-Doherty and Olivia Stanley took on the characters Rusty, Wendy Jo and Urleen. They gave us some very solid characterisations of three distinct characters. Their singing as a trio was very good with some very clear harmony lines, all three made a good connection with the audience .

It was a very brave move from the production team to use real roller boots on stage, well done for taking the plunge it was only a very small section but it has stuck in my mind.

Thank you for inviting me to see your production of Footloose. Myself and my guest enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

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