City boy Ren thinks life is bad enough when he's forced to move to a rural backwater in America. But his world comes to a standstill when he arrives at Bomont to find dancing and rock music are banned. Taking matters into his own hands, soon Ren has all hell breaking loose and the whole town on its feet.
Following two critically acclaimed tours and a West End run, Footloose is back and better than ever with the incredible Jake Quickenden (Dancing on Ice Winner, Hollyoaks, Dreamboys, Hair, Peter Pan – A Musical Adventure) as loveable cowboy Willard and the legendary Darren Day (TV personality and star of numerous West End and National tours including Mame, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Grease and Summer Holiday).
Based on the 1980s screen sensation which took the world by storm, Footloose sizzles with spirit, fun and the best in UK musical talent. With cutting edge modern choreography, you'll enjoy classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let's Hear It For The Boy and of course the unforgettable title track Footloose.
Where?
Edinburgh Playhouse until 23rd July.
MIX UP REVIEWS
Stewart - ★★
"First of all, if you love Footloose (the film or the musical itself) then I'm sure this production is going to appeal to you more than it did to me (you might infact give this a 5 star!). Secondly, all theatre is subjective - not everyone is going to love every production. There's always praise due to all the hard work that goes into a show so well done to the entire production.
Of course there's some great songs, a few toe tapping numbers and Joshua Hawkins as Ren (the Kevin Bacon role) gives a likeable, goofily charming performance in the lead.
For me, personally remember(!), the whole show is lacklustre, characters are annoyingly brittle and the story is just ridiculous. Then there's a creepy leering of male objectification throughout that just feels extremely dated. It just wasn't much fun and I'm pretty surprised this dumb '80s film has managed to keep doing the rounds for so long.
Again - some people are going to love it! I'm clearly not the demographic for this. I went in looking to be pleasantly surprised and was just irritated throughout. When there's so many brilliant youth theatre companies out there creating amazing thought provoking theatre (we're just back from the National Festival of Youth Theatre by Youth Theatrs Arts Scotland) it's a bit of a downer that it's the dumbed down nonsense like this that's packing in the theatres. Bring on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, let's see something new and exciting!"
Make sure you have booked in for the latest DRAMA CLASSES at Mix Up Theatre throughout Scotland and Online :)
We're running a David Walliams inspired Summer Camp season this year!...
