Stepping Out

This play centres around a group of very different characters who attend a weekly tap dancing class in the local village hall run by Mavis who didn’t quite make it as a professional.

The set and props worked well with good lighting and sound. The costumes suited each character well and I loved the over the top outfits of Vera.

The characterisation is probably the most important element of this play and in the main that was achieved well by the cast. Some of the scenes lacked direction and blocking and although I was centrally sited there were a few sightline issues. The use of the younger dancers before each act was a nice touch but unnecessary to the story.

I felt each one of the cast had worked hard on their characterisations but some lacked the confidence to explore deeper layers of their characters and their interaction with each other. This is where the Director helps the actors but I felt this was somewhat lacking here. Gill Cardall as Rose, Diana Lane as Dorothy and Sam Morley as Lynne put in good performances with some nice touches to their characters.

Mr Fraser (usually a female Mrs Fraser) was nicely played by David Burt with a dry cutting wit and delivery. Beckie Morley looked fantastic as Mavis and played well but the delivery of certain lines was lost to the audience due to poor positioning of her character.

Emma Munden put in a good performance as Andy playing the nervous downbeaten wife who uses the class as an escape every week. More could’ve been made of her scenes with Geoffrey played by Craig Eccleston as I never got the feeling of a possible romance. Geoffrey’s character should be shy and filled with nerves but again that was lacking but the delivery itself was excellent

The three stand out performances for me were Victoria Lee as the gobby Maxine, selling clothes on the cheap in class but filled with lack of self confidence. Not only well executed but comic delivery and dancing were spot on.

Secondly Lindsay Brough as the posh Vera who is plagued by OCD and a need to be better than the rest. Lindsay acted the part beautifully, wearing some Over the Top costumes and totally connected with the part.

Last but definitely not least Louise Colohan who played Sylvia, the sassy, funny, down to earth sort. Louise’s delivery of both comic and poignant lines was fabulous and her dancing skills were great too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show which lacked a bit of direction but was more than made up for by the work and camaraderie of the cast.

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