Footloose - The Musical - The Lowry - 15/12/06 by Kashif Naveed

The beginning of Footloose begins with a bang. An almighty crash, bang, wallop of a bang. Now I was expecting Footloose, which is currently wowing the audiences at the Lowry, to be highly charged and very, very exuberant, but it's sudden explosion into life grabs you from the very start and does not relinquish until the cast have sung the last note of the encore.

Footloose the Musical, for all you in the know, is an 1980’s nostalgic version of the same titled film, which starred a host of 1980’s brat kids and made Kenny Loggins’ film theme a worldwide hit. For all those unfortunate not to be in the know count yourselves lucky, very lucky indeed.

Of course I am only joking (well only a little bit). Footloose was an exceptional well-acted and well-crafted production. The cast included some notable performers including the former singer from New Seekers, Lyn Paul, and Mister Lisa Scott Lee (she of Steps fame). Rather surprisingly, the performance amazingly meshes together in perfect unison, with the most important elements all fitting snugly like a glove.

The acting is of a very high standard as is their sing-a-along renditions of 1980’s classics, accompanied by some very nifty dance moves – after all what is the point of putting a musical on about dancing if you cannot dance! Leading the way are Tommy Sherlock and Miria Parvin in the roles of Ren and Ariel, who both give admirable performances. Johnny Shentall (that’s Mr. Lee to you and me) plays the archetypal baddie, whilst Giovanni Spanno excels as the bumbling fool Willard.

The set lends itself to the plot engagingly well, with it more than playing a part in depicting the story of the musical. The lighting also plays its part, sometimes a bit over the top with the spotlights almost blinding half the auditorium, nevertheless it subtlety allows the performance to really shine through.

Much of that credit must go to Karen Bruce, who was both Director and Choreographer, and has cut her teeth on some notable award winning productions such as Saturday Night Fever and Fame. Also taking a bow are Morgan Large, who was Set and Costume Designer, and James Whiteside, who acted as Lighting Designer.

Simply put, it is not often you can watch something in a theatre whereby it runs like a well-oiled machine – and this certainly does. Even the audience, the raucous, ravenous crowd, baying for 80s hit after 80s hit, added a distinctive flavour to proceedings. My advice is to you lose your baggage (not literally) about watching nostalgic recycled cinematic classics and you may be able to enjoy two fun-filled hours of foot stompingly good fare.