For a self-confessed musical theatre obsessive its slightly shocking that I'd never seen either Footloose film but it was certainly nice to see a show I had absolutely no ideas about for once. I was very excited to experience something completely new to me and I was not let down!
Based on true events, Footloose tells the story of a middle American town where dancing has been banned following a car accident which killed four teens. The protagonist Ren moves to the town with his mother and starts a youth revolution against the establishment. This is a show full of drama, dancing and teen angst.
I've only ever seen one other show where instruments are played on stage and I can't say I loved it but in this production it felt extremely natural. The instruments became part of the cast and I was super impressed at the whole casts musical talent with many of them playing 2 or 3 instruments throughout! Quadruple threats, right?!
You're sure leave this show smiling and skipping your way out because every moment is filled with infectious musical numbers. My personal favourites were Holding Out For A Hero and Let's Hear it for the Boy both of which had the audience laughing throughout. Another stand out moment was Learning To Be Silent; now I'm just a sucker for an emotional song but this one stood out because of how beautifully it was performed by Nicky Swift (Ethel McCormack) and Maureen Nolan (Vi Moore)providing a lovely still moment in such a fast paced musical.
Another special mention must go to Luke Baker who took on the leading role of Ren wonderfully and created a fantastic chemistry with Hannah Price (Ariel Moore). I loved the trio of Natasha Brown (Wendy-Jo), Miracle Chance (Urleen) and Joanna Sawyer (Rusty) who provided humour and wit in their almost Greek chorus style roles.
Undoubtedly the selling point of this show for many is Gareth Gates and he certainly doesn't let you down! He embodies Ren's country bumpkin best friend Willard wonderfully, showcasing both his vocal talents and acting skills. Gareth certainly got the biggest applause of the night when he rocked nothing but some gold hot-pants and a cowboy hat, but he isn't just a novelty cast member, he really holds his own in this professional performance.
Overall this is a brilliant feel-good show, personally I enjoyed the second half much more and I left smiling and motivated to make some sort of change! The whole cast work wonderfully as an ensemble, creating a perfect on stage family who you can't help but empathise with. If the standing ovation is anything to go by then this is definitely an audience hit!
If you want to see this show whilst its still at the New Victoria theatre, head over to their website here.
*I was given press tickets to this show, all views and opinions are my own.
