Stepping Out

‘Stepping Out’ is a comical musical based on an original play written by Richard Harris in 1984. It is hard not to be engrossed in the plot with a gaggle of women and the one token man. All of these characters are taken from different backgrounds, but all attend the same weekly tap dancing class in a North London church hall. They all start with what can only be described as shockingly bad dancing skills, as they are taught to tap by their rather patient dance teacher Mavis. They first treat their classes as a social occasion, with discussions about many of their problems. As the show progresses the characters dancing abilities improve and this develops to a level, which allows them to produce a wonderful finale routine, which is part of a show for a charity event.

The pace of the show was great with the sharpness and diction of all the cast allowing a seamless performance. The many comic moments were well portrayed and the audience were able to pick up on every comical moment, this included the laughs brought to the production ‘Mrs Fraser’ with her outstanding comic timing. The larger than life characters were played to perfection, allowing the whole audience to sympathise with each of them. The success of the show is due to the talented ensemble cast and there were some great performances throughout the show.

The cast did an extremely good job in convincing the whole audience of their incompetence to dance through most of the show. That was until the final number when it came to the charity show event and the whole cast came on with a sparkling array of top hats and tails all tapping perfectly in time.

The lighting and sound were good throughout, with balance of cast and music evenly matched. The stage and set were well dressed and the scene changes happened quickly and quietly.

The changing to a new venue a couple of weeks before this show did not hinder the staging of this musical. The company managed to maintain a high level of professionalism and standards were good throughout, for which the production team and cast should be praised. The whole society including front of house and back stage staff should be proud of what they have achieved with this production. This was echoed with a rather full theatre appreciating their entire experience. Overall the production provided an entertaining evening for all who attended.  I would like to wish the society well for their next production of ‘Spring Awakening’ in January 2015.

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