13 Oct REVIEW: Dancing in the Streets at the Richmond Theatre

It’s a bit of a stretch to call Dancing in the Streets a jukebox musical, or even to call it a piece of musical theatre at all; there’s no contrived attempt at a storyline to limp us through, no jazz hands, and no pieces of moving set with the vaguest relevance to that contrived plot. Which is a huge relief, to say the least. What there is, is brilliant- and brilliantly familiar- music.

In a structure that’s firmly to the show’s merit, Dancing in the Streets is more an extremely polished compilation of tribute acts, delivered by 7 accomplished vocalists and 4 accomplished musicians. In true Ronseal style, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Hit after hit after hit from an enormous catalogue of Motown classics that just go to show the longevity of all those songs we know and love so well. Think The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie and The Supremes, and so many more, all with costume changes to match.

And when I say hit after hit after hit, that really is what I mean. Despite the set list cantering through the Motown highlights at such an incredible pace, the cast were handed an apparently insurmountable task in whipping up a party atmosphere on a miserably chilly, rainy Sunday night, and on a day when the Gods of the train tracks were certainly not smiling on us. And yet despite this, they managed to generate incredible amounts of energy on stage, radiating out into the auditorium where just a couple of bars into the opening number, one lady was already standing and dancing along. This kind of enthusiasm is seriously infectious, so it wasn’t far in before Dancing in the Streets could plausibly be renamed Dancing in the Seats, or even Dancing out of the Seats.

The cast (or rather, vocalists?) are the true assets of this show. Described by Kylie Minogue as, “one of my favourite singers”, and by Will.I.Am as a, “freakin’ incredible singer,” Leo “The Lion” Ihenacho is a former member of multi-platinum selling The Streets, as well as having appeared on this years The Voice. Whilst they’re infinitely better qualified to comment on his voice than I am, just for the record, I agree, and so, it appears, did everyone else in the auditorium. But whilst Ihenacho has attracted the majority of the press attention, it’s a vocal team of 7, who all pulled together brilliantly to each, individually, deliver a great performance.

The quality of the singers is what makes this such an addictive show, especially when delivering so many Motown hits. If you go with your eyes open, expecting 80’s music, sparkly dresses and satin shirts, and you’ll come away be more than happy, with sore feet and a sore throat.

For tickets and information: atgtickets.com/dancing-in-the-streets
Image credit: Irina Chira

 

Star Rating

Ginger Hibiscus don’t like using stars as a headline; we think they’re too reductionist, and that decision-making based on stars misses the point of a review. Just as you wouldn’t judge a personality using a five-point scale, theatre is multi-dimensional. So have a read, and then look at the stars afterwards.