Stepping Out

It's a big challenge for a choreographer to train a company of novice tappers to a level when they can convincingly carry off basic steps that advance the theory that they're 'getting better', let alone perform a seemingly 'flawless' finale. The cast and their choreographer did a great job and I imagine that show week was the culmination of many months of hard work, which left us with some amiable dancing - and some 'scissors' from Sylvia that we're liable to take out half the people on stage. Hilarious! The steps were simple enough to pick up, but not so simple as to look too weak for the 'dance class'.

Some moves were downright side-splitting, with one example during a rehearsal for their big dance when Geoffrey took centre stage and performed a show-stealing move (I can only think to describe it as a 'grind') that brought raucous laughter from the audience - and a little bit of corpsing on stage too (we know how I feel about that sort of thing!).

But this is a play that doesn't work unless the characters are strong and the dialogue slick. There was a mixture of talent here, with some good moments from each of the cast, but an outstanding charismatic delivery from Rose, whose timing and believability went hand-in-hand with her ability to deliver both high energy comedy and the realism of a concerned mother.

Most of the biggest laughs were delivered by Sylvia, whose 'what the hell' attitude led to some hilarious outbursts, both dance and situation related. Quiet as a mouse, Geoffrey was a man of few words, but often the focus of the women's banter. He managed to develop the burgeoning relationship with Andy well (to the point that I wanted to slap him for being so blind!). Likewise Andy's performance worked well and slowly painted the picture of her terrible home life and her growing interest in Geoffrey (although the age difference between the two performers stretched the imagination a tad).

Dialogue-wise the toughest task was for Dancing Teacher, Mavis, who managed her large amount of words well and delivered a robust performance, however I felt it lacked a little pathos in the scene leading up to her 'pregnancy revelation'. I also learned that she had not been a dancer before this show and so her additional solo dance number (portrayed a little like a 'dream sequence') was well done.

Mrs Fraser was suitably grouchy (fake playing her piano to an audio track), Dorothy played the simpering underdog well (with some nice bursts of indignation caused by Maxine's accusations) and Vera was perfectly haughty and an expert at rubbing everyone up the wrong way. The speech she gives towards the end when she essentially reveals (in her own way) how poorly she is treated by her husband and family nearly struck the right chord, and with some more work would have been a truly sobering blow for the audience (who misinterpreted the beginning of the section with laughter).

A similar dramatic revelation was delivered by Lynne, who's normally bubbly personality was subdued by the death of one of her patients. This was a poignant moment and could have been more dramatic with less speed. In a play that is driven by snappy dialogue, these moments of stillness can be as powerful as hitting the emergency brake.

Maxine's dialogue didn't flow particularly naturally, although her character was big, brash and 'in your face'. I think she suffered most in the disjointed dialogue scenes when multiple conversations were happening across the room at once - something that affected everyone at one time or another, particularly as the scenes become more fraught with drama.

I think if I were to lay down a challenge to the society it would be to work on developing stronger, more substantial sets. In the case of 'Stepping Out' the initial reveal of the stage gave a good impression - this was clearly set in a small village hall. However the simplicity of the set began to show after a couple of scenes, as is often the case with a single-set piece. I began wishing for something more than the black curtains at the back and imagined a tatty wall with windows and half-collapsed curtains to further enhance the setting. 

Making more of the notice board, like changing some key posters, would have been a subtle nod towards the passage of time too. Similarly the dramatic change to the final 'gala performance', which had such wonderful costumes (which were strong throughout) and choreography, suffered from a sparkling slash-cloth that was too short for the stage and looked awkward as a result. But all-in-all, this was a great production that had us laughing all the way and left us with a warm and fuzzy feeling of joy and the inspiration to dig out my tap shoes again!

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