Footloose

After visiting the Civic theatre this week I can tell you I came away totally exhausted and drained, not for any other reason than the energy, vitality and sheer professionalism of the young members of RTSA.

From the outset this show was full of energy and even when going from the most energetic of dance routines they were still able to sing in perfect harmony some of the more demanding songs in this show

There was never a low point, all the moves, songs, scene changes and lighting were as slick and as professional as it could possibly be, the only one hitch on Tuesday evening was some technical problems with the sound which unfortunately does sometimes happen.

In terms of leading characters RTSA had made a perfect choice in casting Brad Swinburn as Ren, he was perfect in every way, he has good looks, can sing, dance and act so is the triple threat, playing opposite Brad was Molly Huddleston as Ariel Moore who was also perfectly cast, Molly was able to show off her talents to the full, singing dancing and acting her way through all the numbers with ease as well as looking beautiful to boot, a perfect match in anyone’s eyes.

It would be totally wrong to say others were playing supporting parts as these are also very demanding and credit must be given to Isabelle Canning as the long suffering wife and mother Vi Moore, Isabelle was able to get all the emotion out of this part and I particularly liked the trio she sang with Beth Atkin as Ethel McCormack and Molly, this was truly breathtaking and could not have been performed any better.

As the husband of Vi and father to Ariel was Rev Shaw Moore played to perfection by Josh Roberts, he was able to be very bombastic but at the same time show the true emotions of the character, not an easy role for anyone to play. Josh’s skills came to the fore in his last scene when he gave a very emotional speech to the congregation and I am sure there will have been many watery eyes both on and off stage.

The “baddy” of this show is Chuck played very well by Matt Roberts, again Matt was able to show off his talents as an actor, singer and dancer.

The part of Rusty may not be a big as some of the others but equally as important and has to be played well, was taken on by Amiee Good, she was able to show her comedic talents as well as her dancing whilst performing this part opposite Matt Ellis as Willard Hewitt, this was the comedy part in the show and does require a good comedian to play it. Quite a number of people think it is very easy to play the comedy part as you simply have to “be daft”, well yes in a panto this may work but not in a show of this nature and I have to say Matt excelled himself in this one, he had the audience in the palm of his hands and they loved every minute of him being on stage.

Mention must also made to Elliot Lee as Travis and Will Glasby as Lyle, these two worked extremely well together and were also able to add the full effect of this show with their good comic timing adding to their performance and that of the whole show.

This is one show I had never seen before, knew nothing about but one which I hope to see again although I doubt anyone would be able to come up to the standard of this one. Well done to all involved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.