Well, it seems that my rethink on stage musicals adapted from the film versions has paid off, in that I now ‘get’ the formula; dumb down on the story and concentrate on the music. The problem here is that there are no blockbuster songs, except for Love Is In The Air, which doesn’t surface until the end. Obviously the emphasis in this case is on the dancing, with the storyline filling in the gaps. The other element of reducing most of the characters to ridiculous caricatures is present but, as they are all Australians, albeit some of Spanish origin, that is easily done. You only need look at their current men’s Ashes team for a template, in fact, they make this show look like a documentary.
The plot centres round Scott Hastings, played by Kevin Clifton, a ballroom dancer, who has started embellishing his routines with his own moves, which are not strictly ballroom – see what they did there. When he and his partner, Liz, Agnes Pure, lose the Southern Districts Waratah Championships because of his antics, she leaves him to dance with a rival.
Should Scott pair up with Tina Sparkle, Danielle Cato, an experienced competitor, or spend time training up the wannabe beginner Fran, Faye Brookes, with only three weeks to go before the prestigious Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship. I think you know the answer. Now that they are dance partners, will they become life partners or will Fran’s parents Rico, Jose Agudo and Abuelo, Karen Mann come between them on both counts. I think you know the answer to that as well.
Kevin Clifton as Scott Hastings and Faye Brookes as Fran
Most important, will they win the competition, who knows?
There are subplots concerning Scotts parents’ dancing careers and Fran’s parents being flamenco dancers. By pure coincidence, the category in which Scott and Fran are entered is Latin, so they impart their expertise to the couple’s rehearsals.
It is all good, harmless fun, the singing wasn’t wonderful but the dancing was spectacular, as were the musicians, who got their moment in the limelight when called onto the stage at the end.
There were a couple of downsides, both concerning the Direction by Craig Revel Horwood; the first was the over-the-top portrayals of the authority figures which I found to be quite childish with wigs making Donald Trump’s hairdo look tasteful; secondly, and more ironic, was that midway through each dance routine, they seemed to get a bit fed up and stop mid tune for some more silliness. It would have been good to see a full dance, rather than a snippet.
The accents were very good, except for one chap in a bright ginger wig, who sounded more South African than Australian, I was waiting for him to tell someone to throw another shrimp on the braai.
If you fancy a daft couple of hours with some good dancing tunes, and silly humour, then this is for you. The theatregoers to whom I spoke seemed to love it so what do I know. I think you know the answer to that as well!
Strictly Ballroom: The Musical runs at Leeds Grand Theatre until Saturday, 8th July. For more details and to book tickets please go to https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/strictly-ballroom-2023/
All images supplied by Leeds Heritage Theatres
Tyke It To The Limit 