Flashdance review (UK Tour): Legwarmers to the ready if you dream anything is possible.
Flashdance review by Katey Thompson.
Flashdance is the musical take on the film of the same name, Flashdance which was originally released in 1983. Alex is a seventeen year old who has a tough job as a welder by day and a flashdancer by night but dreams of joining Shipley Academy and really learning how to dance.
Joanne Clifton of Strictly Come Dancing fame is an excellent dancer and brings a vibrancy to her role of Alex which is hard to beat. Alex finds love with Nick Hurley (Ben Adams) who is a good singer. However Nick is used to the finer things in life and struggles to understand the world from Alex and her colleagues perspective. Alex’s fellow dancers Kiki (fantastically played by Sia Dauda), Gloria (Hollie-Ann Lowe) and Tess (Demmileigh Foster) support her in her dream to achieve more.
There are songs that fans of the original musical will recognise – Maniac, Gloria, I Love Rock and Roll and What a Feeling. The power of these 80s hits is difficult to match with the rest of the score, as the band did such a great job of belting them out. The set is intricate and clever how the locations change by the use of lighting or the stairs, and the use of film as part of the back drop is simple but very effective. The scene changes seemed complex but very quickly executed. The story at times feels a little disjointed as if they are trying to cram in to many sub plots which the cannot be developed more fully throughout the show. However, this does not detract from the passion, energy and enthusiasm that is present in the show.
Translating onto a film onto stage, which is based more on stylish dance choreography than a well-structured script, causes the production to lack an overall cohesiveness to tie the plot together. Having said that, there is plenty of lycra and legwarmers in this toe tapping flash back to the 1980’s as the power ballads help carry the show.
Flashdance review by Katey Thompson, February 2018.
Flashdance is running at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking until 24th February 2018.
