Footloose

The only thing I knew about this show, before I saw it, was that it was a dancer’s show!  And, boy, did the company fulfil that expectation!  Director and Choreographer Sallie Warrington showed her talent for producing high energy performances from her cast.  I was really caught up and could, very easily, have been dancing in the aisles if someone else had started it!

The principals all performed to a very high standard.  Olly Gourley (Ren) demonstrated just what an all-round performer he is, his singing has always been outstanding but, in this role, he also demonstrated his skills as an actor.  His monologue in Act 2 was a masterpiece in emotional performance.  I know I cry easily at sad and emotional performances but this one really tugged at the heartstrings. Oh and he dances too!

Gemma Cohen played Ariel with great style; she is a good strong all round performer and showed all the sides of the character well.  Matthew Wallace gave a terrific comic performance as Willard; his initial efforts at dance reminded me of Woody (Toy Story) and made the transformation more effective when he showed that he really could dance.  He was teamed with Tori Williams as his erstwhile girlfriend Rusty and Tori’s performance was very strong across the whole show.   Rebecca Wallace (Urleen) and Natalie Macmillan (Wendy Jo) made a perfect BFF pairing and completed the young Principal’s team.

All the ‘grown up’ Principals were very strong and seasoned performers, Peter Brown gave a master class in his portrayal of Rev Shaw and Sara Hickling showed just how strong a performer she is with her characterisation of his wife Vi, she had some good empathetic dialogue and it was delivered with great passion and love.   Zoe Berry, as Ren’s mother Ethel, was perfect in the role.  She understood the relationship between her character and her son’s and her scene when she tells him to follow his emotions was superb.  Finally to Robert Burdett, playing the villain Chuck, another good strong characterisation and sufficiently bad to be disliked but not bad enough to be hated, perfect.

I must also mention the ensemble, all of whom worked their socks off to perform the dances, dialogue and singing.  The energy coming from the stage was palpable, there wasn’t a single moment when the energy flagged and the company clearly enjoyed the show which was very evident to us in the audience.

The scenery was minimal with a lot of trucks, which must have been a trial on that stage!  I particularly liked the bridge truck, which was very cleverly used.  It all worked extremely well and the use of the rostra and steps was absolutely right for the production.

The small rocking band was perfect and well balanced to the production.  There was only one song where I found it unbalanced. It was such a shame that, at one point, the ensemble’s singing actually drowned out Ethel and Ren who were singing counterpoint.   But the company was large and it would have been very tricky to achieve the right balance between those two voices and the other thirty odd voices on stage! 

Costumes were right for the period, although I thought Ethel’s dresses were too short for the period and the age of her character.  Otherwise the cast were dressed well for age and period and the co-ordination of the high school students in the gym scene worked well.   Lighting was excellent with good use of gobos and atmospheric smoke.

Overall a very enjoyable, high energy show which left the audience exhilarated and on a high.  Thank you for your hospitality and I look forward to the next production.

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