Tag: UK

THEATRE REVIEW | BU21

★★★★ | BU21

We’re bombarded every year with news of atrocities. We might try to avoid looking at the scenes on the news or alternatively seek them out with a ghoulish fascination. We might worry about it happening to us or think about how we’d cope with say a gunman opening fire or a bomb blast. The certain fact is that bad things happen in the world and we can’t avoid knowing that they do.

CREDIT: BU21

‘BU21’ looks at the human aftermath of a terrorist plane attack which causes mass causalities in suburban North London. It’s a wry and witty play that’s multi-layered and never predictable. Told as a set of interconnected monologues it’s a 100-minute ride with surprising humour as well as pathos.
Graham has been elevated from van driver to national icon, having been one of the first to be filmed at the scene on the news and now finds this gives meaning to his life. Izzy learned that her mother had been ripped apart via Twitter and is trying to use her middle-class skills set to cope with this. Waitress Ana was horribly burned and maimed whilst sunbathing before her shift and is living life in a cold vacuum. Floss is seeing a dead man everywhere she goes. The thing is she was at the kitchen window and a man fell to earth in his plane seat and died looking into her eyes. City banker Alex’s flat was hit by wreckage which led to the unfortunate discovery of his girlfriend’s body welded to Alex’s best friend mid-shag. Finally,
Clive is a devout Muslim. Raised with no religion he’s found comfort in Islam and wants to tell us about his side of the story.

It might all sound unbearably grim and definitely like a play to avoid watching during a grey English January but this is where author Stuart Slade surprises tricks and teases. Slade’s characters are varying in their resilience, their surprising humour and their ability to get through. The play also turns its gaze upon society. Why do we want to watch this and what does our fascination with tragedy say about us as a society or as individuals? Slade plays with our prejudices too and laughs at and forces us to laugh at ourselves too. This is an alarmingly sad, hilariously funny and utterly pertinent play and is an experience you won’t stop thinking about for quite some time.

BU21 plays at the Trafalgar Studi0 until Feb 18th

15th January 2017
THEATRE REVIEW | Strangers in Between, Kings Head Theatre

★★★★ | Strangers in Between, Kings Head Theatre

CREDIT: Andreas Grieger

Great performances by a cast of three is the highlight of the play ‘Strangers in Between.’

Playing for the second year in a row at the Kings Head Theatre, ’Strangers in Between’ is a drama about a young man experiencing the big city for the first time. Shane (Roly Botha) has moved from his small hometown in Australia to the big city of Sydney. He says he’s 19, and he works in a liquor store yet doesn’t even know how to use the register. In walks a customer – gay and trendy Will (Dan Hunter). Shane at first is a bit intimidated by him, but they manage to make small talk until another customer walks in – Peter (Stephen Connery-Brown) – a middle-aged gay man looking for a simple yet inexpensive bottle of wine. Eventually, Shane gets Will’s number.

Shane lives in the Kings Cross section of Sydney, an area teeming with prostitutes and crime. But Shane loves it there, especially as it’s far away from his family, and especially brother, he ran away from. He and Will hook up for a few trysts – it’s purely a sexual relationship – while Shane finds comfort in his friendship with Peter. But Shane has a couple secrets, one being his age, and the other involving his homophobic brother Ben (Hunter). But suddenly Ben finds Shane in Sydney after Shane’s world is falling apart after he has lost his job and contracted an STD from Will.

The cast is very admirable but it’s Botha who shines. His Shane is young, cute, innocent and with a nervous tick – he dominates the very small stage – Botha is a wonder. Hunter ably does double duty as Will and Ben, while Connery-Brown is very good as Peter. While the ending is a bit of a letdown, the play, written by Tommy Murphy, is a show that all of us can relate to because at one time we were all young and innocent and new to the big city.

For tickets, please visit:

Strangers In Between plays at the Kings Head Theatre until 4th Feb 2017

13th January 2017
THEATRE REVIEW | The Kite Runner, Wyndham’s Theatre

★★★★ | The Kite Runner, Wyndham’s Theatre

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy played by Ben Turner, growing up at the beginning of the troubles, in Afghanistan. When the Russians invade he is forced to flee with his ailing father or “Baba” (Emilio Doorgasingh) and begins a new life in the US where he finds a bride in what should be a happy ever ending. Unfortunately, Amir is also accompanied by a burdening baggage of guilt as a result of a set of lies and deceit, a secret known only by his father’s dear old friend Rahim (Nicholas Khan) who remained in Kabul.

Amir’s mother had died during Amir’s birth, so he was brought up by Baba and father and son servants, the later Hassan (Andre Costin) of whom had developed a strong and loyal bond with Amir which is pivotal to the storyline. However, Amir betrayed that loyalty after witnessing an outrageous act on Hassan by a local gang of youths, who’s ring leader Assef (Nicholas Karimi) and Amir’s nemesis, reappears in an added twist later in the story when he is compelled by Rahim to return on a dangerous mercy mission to Kabul, now inhabited by the Taliban.

The adaptation is brave as it’s a narration by Amir of his journey from boy to man and the tragedy that unfolds. This is a common style for Asian story telling but there is a danger that narration can be plodding and almost “sermon-esque” but Mathew Spangler seems to have struck a perfect balance between the story telling, flash-backs and cleverly choreographed crowd scenes that echoed the atmosphere and rhythms of Husseini’s novel, helped by a strong performance from Ben Turner and the supporting cast. The stage set is minimal with a kind of skateboard park half pipe that cleverly allows an illusion of height and depth for the performers to work off especially during the kite flying and action scenes, the backdrop a giant movable kite that had patterns projected on to it that complimented each scene.

Tragedy upon tragedy lent to a relatively high tear jerk rating but this was pleasantly interspersed with humour from the characters who seemed to grow in confidence as the performance progressed and they connected with the audience.

My only minus point about this stage version is that Husseini’s novel addressed other issues head on, shaking a fist at the revolving door of invaders that ruined what was once a beautiful country and a Mecca for travellers seeking enlightenment with a steady bustling economy and the subservient divide between Sunni and Shia, issues that were incidental and merely form a backdrop in this stage version, but were what made the novel a hot potato. However, to encapsulate the novel in its entirety on stage is too big an ask!

I cannot sum up without mentioning the wonderful and often hypnotic percussion accompaniment from Hanif Khan that gelled the performance, beautifully done.

I recommend this play, well written, and with strong performances throughout. I have already booked my return ticket!

The Kite Runner runs at the Wyndham’s Theatre until 11th March.

13th January 2017
RESTAURANT REVIEW | Mamie’s

★★★★ | Mamie’s

If you’re looking for an excellent crépe in Covent Garden, I’ve got the place for you.

Mamie’s, on Catherine Street, right across the street from the Theatre Royal where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is playing, serves many varieties of crépes – both sweet and savoury (also known as galettes). Nestled in a three-story building, Mamie’s is a cozy place for cozy food and has something for everyone. If you’re looking to make the visit a full meal, then your first course will be a galette – there are 9 galettes to choose from, all made from buckwheat, gluten free, and healthy. If you like salmon, you’re in luck – there is Salmon and Cheese as well as a dish called La Baudelaire, which my lunch companion had, with salmon, mushrooms, a fried egg, and cheese, along with lettuce on top. At £9.50 it’s a bit pricey, but it’s served open-faced (as opposed to rolled up) – and it is large. Other options include the Forest Compléte – egg, ham, emmental cheese, créme fraiche, mushrooms and onions (£8.90), and the cleverly-named L’Edith Piaf – blue cheese, pears, walnuts and mixed salad leaves (£7.90). I had the delicious La Chateaubriand – a rolled galette wth sausage, onions, whole grain mustard and mixed salad leafs – a snip at £7.90 – and very very tasty.

Of course, when I think of crépes I always think of the sweet kind – the ones you buy at markets and, if you’ve been to Paris, you can find loads of créperies that serve them – they’re a French institution! And at Mamie’s they’re delicious! I had the homecooked apples and cinnamon crépe. Talk about perfect, it was so so good, and very large, and at only £4.90 an excellent deal. You can choose from other options including Nutella (£4.90), pears and chocolate (£4.90), La Magritte – home cooked apples, caramel and vanilla ice cream (£6.90) or the La Henri Dés – Nutella, caramel and marshmallows (£5.90). Or if you’re a bit too full from your main course, then a butter & sugar or a lemon & sugar might be best for you (£3.00 and £4.50 respectively).

Mamie’s also has a small menu of starters including tapas and salads (though two were sold out on the day we visited), as well as an excellent beer and cider menu, and a cocktail menu that are specially-made and all at £8.00. But Mamie’s is very unique in two aspects of its business – the way you order and what you order. When you sit down you are given a computer tablet to place your order. Each course and drinks options are on the main page – and each dish has a picture of it – so you know what you’re getting! But even more clever is that for each galette and crépe, you can add additional items as toppings. So in the case of one of the galettes, you can add more salad, honey, an extra egg, ham, or onions, all at a very small surcharge. And in the crépe world, feel free to add jam, chocolate, pears, apples, perhaps turn it into a flambée – almost anything you want! There is also dairy free and vegan options. So if this doesn’t entice you I don’t know what else will!

French born Aymeric Peurois opened Mamie’s in early August and has designed his restaurant in the style of Brittany. As a child, he used to go to his grandmother’s house in Brittany (Mamie’s means grandmother in French) where she used to make crépes. So Aymeric, who is a former financier, decided to leave his job and open Mamie’s, which can seat around 40 people on both the ground and first floor (though five of the tables on the first floor are extremely close to each other). Aymeric is very passionate about the place, and he has plans to turn the basement into a cider bar/cider cellar. It’s a beautiful room, made to look like a speakeasy, and it’s got a see-it-to-believe-it large map of Brittany on the ceiling! Très incroyable! I really wish Aymeric all the luck in getting this business established and successful – it’s a very cute and cosy spot right in the heart of the West End.

Reviewed by: Tim Baros

Address: 19 Catherine St, London WC2B 5JS, UK

Phone: +44 20 7836 7216

For opening hours and to check the menu, please visit:
mamies.co.uk

12th January 2017
THEATRE REVIEW | St Petersburg Classic Ballet’s Swan Lake – Sheffield Lyceum and National Tour

★★★| It is a tidal wave of tights, tutus and tiaras in this presentation of one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous ballets, performed in typical traditional style by the St Petersburg Classic Ballet. Telling the story of a Prince who finds his youth slipping away and being pressured into marriage, he meets and falls in love with Odette, Queen of the Swans, who is under a curse from which only true love can free her. But their love is thwarted by the evil Von Rothbart when he tricks the Prince into being betrothed to another. When the Prince realises he has been a victim of such cruel treachery, he battles to save Odette from her curse.

PR Supplied

In their second UK tour, Swan Lake proves to be a more entertaining and gentile evening than anticipated, with simple but effective sets, traditional costumes and an instantly recognisable score. The company, on the whole, performed well and the dancers individually were all very talented and quite natural in their performances. There is no denying the technical ability and suppleness of the cast, but when dancing as an ensemble, there were still some flaws in the performance including the odd stumble, the fixed smiles and, on occasions, the unison of the dancers not being as tight and synchronised as one would hope for and anticipate, especially from such a prestigious company

That aside, the vivacious, playful and instantly recognisable score by Tchaikovsky sounded as vibrant as ever, and proved absorbing, especially during the first act. There were times when the ballet sparkled brightly, nowhere more evident than the sight of a sheer volume of swans and signets in the latter portion of the second act, which amounted to a fairly mesmerising vision. The tapestry based static set was functional and some of the costumes were beautifully put together. There was a romantic pas de deux in the latter half of the second act and the soloists portraying the potential suitors displaying their wares at the opening of Act 3 were quite captivating.

For those seeking a traditionally presented ballet, then this version of Swan Lake is a safe bet and a pleasant evening’s entertainment, albeit one which is let down very slightly by a lack of unison within the performance on the odd occasions, which is a shame when compared to the tightly performed routines by other companies.

However, there remain many aspects of the show to enjoy and it is an easy, accessible ballet which is more focussed on dance and performance than detailed narrative.

The production was reviewed at Sheffield Theatres (www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk) who will be premiering a new musical, Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, based on the BBC3 documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 in February 2017

St Petersburg Classic Ballet is touring the UK, calling at Poole Lighthouse, Truro Hall, Bath Theatre Royal and Aylesbury Waterside between now and the 4^th February 2017.

11th January 2017
Popular gay bar in South London closing due to rent hikes

Another of London’s iconic gay bars is to close revealing that unsustainable rent hikes are the cause.

Popular gay bar in South London closing due to rent hikes

Clapham in south London is to see the closure of one of its two gay bars thanks to unsustainable rent increases. Kazbar, which opened its doors in 1995, will have its last day of business on the 1st of January. The Two Brewers, which is local to the Kazbar, will remain open.

A statement released via its Facebook page said that after 20 years the bar would be shuttered from the 1st of January after its annual New Year’s Eve party.

The post reads,

“After 20 years of being the iconic gay bar of South London, we regret to inform you that we will be closing down this year.

“We will hold our last “New Year’s Eve” party until 6 am as usual. But we would love you to join us for the last goodbye drinks of the 1st January until our normal closing time.

“Thanks for your support all these years”

Amy Lamé who was appointed by Sadiq Khan as London’s “night czar” revealed that a rent increase from £86,000 per year to £150,000 was the reason behind the decision to close the bar.

THEGAYUK.com has been following the closure of LGBT bars in London since 2000. Since the turn of the century over 105 LGBT venues have closed.

31st December 2016
Gay couple and two friends beaten by a “group of 15” on Christmas day

It is being reported that a gay couple and their two friends, in North Yorkshire, were beaten by a group of up to 15 in a homophobic incident.

CREDIT: Google Maps

A gay couple and their two friends were left needing medical attention, after an attack by “group of about 15” outside a pub in Thornaby, North Yorkshire by what they call a “homophobic gang”.

Jayson Homer and his partner, 21, and two friends, Marc Vasey and a female friend, allege that the incident started at around 8:30 PM inside the pub, where they were enjoying a festive drink. Jayson’s partner, who wished to remain anonymous, says that he was questioned about his religion by another group at the pub. The debate escalated to verbal abuse when he said that the group started calling him homophobic slurs.

Speaking to the Gazette Live the anonymous victim said,

“At first a girl in the group started taking the mick out of me for being Jewish. Then another lad from the group came over saying being Jewish was a race.

“I was disagreeing with him and it was just a little debate really at first. But then the girl started shouting ‘queer’ at me. Every time I went to the toilet someone said it while I was walking past.”

Eventually, the couple and their two friends decided to leave the pub at 11.15 PM, when they say they were set upon and physically attacked by “a group of about 15” on Thornaby Road.

Jayson said that he was bottled in the face and had to have a CT scan at the hospital to check for brain damage. His partner suffered bruising and a black eye.

Jayson said that the attack has left him feeling suicidal and petrified to leave his own home.

He said,

“To tell the truth it left me feeling suicidal. I was petrified to go out of my front door but I’m not going to let it stop me living my life.”

According to Gazette Live this is the second homophobic attack in less than a week in Thornaby. On Wednesday 21st December a 30-year-old cyclist was assaulted, following a homophobic verbal attack by two men. His attackers were travelling in a white Mercedes, when they pulled over, shouted homophobic abuse at him, got out of their car and attacked him.

In January a teenager was attacked by two men who approached him after he alighted the 1C bus on Knaresborough Road, Harrogate, in North Yorkshire. As he walked passed the men, the victim was grabbed by one who held his arms behind his back whilst being punched and kicked in the head.

Cleveland Police are investigating the attack and are urging anyone with information to call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

28th December 2016
THEATRE REVIEW | Charming Dick

★★★ | Charming Dick

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a couple of cut-price synthetic-fibre-clad drag queens, a Eurovision medley, and a huge sack full of festive double entendres and innuendos – we at THEGAYUK can’t wait for Kris Kringle to cum down our chimney – falalalala la la la la.

Producer Catia Ciarico and The Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s production of Charming Dick has more puns than letters to Santa requesting penis pumps. If you’ve a penchant for musical theatre, know your way around a winklepicker-tapping Dolly Parton number and the melody to ‘Money Money Money’ sends your baubles into a figgy-pudding frenzy, then this should be right up your North Pole.

Charming Dick is a posing-pouch-packed with everything an adult yuletide panto should be, audience participation – “oh yes there is”. A Twankey (Tim McArthur), a wicked witch (Matthew Floyd), a prince (Stewart Briggs) a Little Red Riding Hood/blind mouse/chem-sex party fag-hag (Abigail Carter-Simpson) and of course, a Big Dick (Ali Frederick). Imagine Westminster City Council as the witch, then you’ve got the Noel narrative.

Not every scene was like skating around the rink at Somerset House, a few of the lines took the same route as the lemon does with the Turkey on the nut-cracking day, and the ‘Twelve Day Of Christmas’ almost got lost in a snow-hole – but it all added to the jingle-belling jollity. Any mince pie indulgence from the derrieres-on-seats would have been worked off with the continuous guffaws.

This is a stuffer for your stocking, a trimming for your tree, full of festive vulgarity – head to the Cockpit Theatre and we hope you ‘Oh Cum All Ye Faithful’.

If we gave halves – we’d give three-and-half.

The Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street, London NW8 8EH 6 – 23 December 2016 | Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm  £16 (adv), £18 (on the door), £12 (conc) | www.thecockpit.org.uk | | 020 7258 2925

14th December 2016
Cop killer Stefano Brizzi handed down a 24-year prison sentence for the murder of a police officer he found on Grindr

Convicted killer Stefano Brizzi has been sentenced to 24 years jail time for the murder of a gay serving police officer.

Stefano Brizzi has been handed a 24-year jail term for the murder of a serving police officer, Gordon Semple. The jail term means he will be at least 74 before he can apply for parole. He was also served with a seven years’ imprisonment for obstructing a coroner from holding an inquest, for which this sentence will run concurrently.

Brizzi was found guilty of murder at the same court on Monday, 14 November, but pleaded guilty to obstructing a coroner on Thursday, 20 October – the first day of his trial.

Brizzi, 50, went to great lengths to dispose of 59-year-old Gordon Semple, by dismembering him and getting rid of him in a manner which “amounts to cannibalism”. Police investigating Semple’s death also revealed that they found “a number of bottles of chemicals scattered over the hallway floor and in the bathroom,” when they arrived at Brizzi’s address.

CREDIT: Metropolitan Police

On Friday, 1 April, Gordon Semple, who dedicated 30 years of his working life to the police, was on duty and had been at a meeting in London Bridge. Phone evidence has shown that at just after 14:00hrs that day he used the dating app Grindr to arrange to meet Brizzi for sex at his south London flat. That afternoon, Brizzi strangled Gordon Semple to death and over the following week set about systematically disposing of his body in a bid to either avoid being caught or ensuring that Gordon could never be identified.

Police arrived at Brizzi’s address six days later on Thursday, 7 April, after neighbours called them and the London Ambulance Service after becoming increasingly concerned about a vile stench emanating from the flat.

On arrival at the door, the officers were greeted by Brizzi wearing his underpants. The officers noted a number of bottles of chemicals scattered over the hallway floor, and in the bathroom discovered bin bags containing body parts.

Brizzi was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to Lewisham police station.

Commander Nick Downing, from the Metropolitan Police Service, said,

“Today, my heart goes out to Gordon’s partner, family, loved ones, friends and colleagues. They have my deepest sympathy; his loss continues to be acutely felt.

“Brizzi has shown no remorse for his actions, since the time of his arrest and throughout his trial. With today’s sentence a dangerous man, whose cold calculated actions were deeply disturbing, is behind bars.”

Statement on behalf of the family of Gordon Semple,

“Gordon continues to be sadly missed by our family. Gordon we miss you so much, may you rest in peace.

“Gordon was a loyal and much loved long term partner, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin and friend to all.

“We were devastated when the news broke of Gordon’s murder and the circumstances which are still incredibly hard to deal with. It is still insurmountably upsetting. Nothing takes away the pain of our loss.

“At Gordon’s funeral we met many of his friends and work colleagues – we were proud to hear how fondly they thought of Gordon.”

Passing sentence the Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC, said,

“The PCs on scene encountered something no amount of training could have prepared them for. I commend them both.

“Mr Semple was dearly loved by his family and friends and no sentence carried by this court can equate to the precious human life lost.”

Addressing Brizzi directly he said: “No sentence I can pass can undo what you’ve done.

“I have no doubt that there came a time when you went beyond what was agreed and you decided to cause him really serious harm.”

He added: “Your attempts to conceal what happened and dismembering and destroying his body are terrible features of the case.”

12th December 2016
THEATRE REVIEW | Buried Child

✭✭✭ | Buried Child

CREDIT: Buried Child

If you want to see Ed Harris sitting on a couch for close to three hours, then Buried Child is the show for you.

Harris, film and television star, is excellent as Dodge, the father of two sons (dysfunctional doesn’t even come close to describing them). He lives in an old, ram shackled dilapidated house in Illinois with his wife Halie (Harris’ real-life wife Amy Madigan), who pops up in the first and third acts. Yes, this play has three acts, with two very quick ten-minute intervals between the acts. The last show I saw that had three acts, (The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures), was very painful to sit through and felt a bit like Chinese water torture. Buried Child, playing at Trafalgar Studios, is not that bad but it still feels like a long show.

Harris does spend the whole time on centre stage, on the sofa, and he’s even on the sofa before the show even starts. Dodge and Halie share their home, unwillingly, with their two grown up sons. They’ve obviously missed the financial gravy train and are unfortunately tethered to their poor lot in life. One son, Bradley (Gary Shelford), never left home, and who continues to bring into the house freshly dug up vegetables from no one knows where because there’s not a garden anywhere near the house. Tilden (Barnaby Kay), who used to live in New Mexico, has returned to the family homestead because of an incident that happened there. It’s up to Halie to be the sane member of the family, this is until their grandson Vince (Jeremy Irvine), son of Tilden, arrives in town with his girlfriend Shelly (Charlotte Hope). Immediately Shelly is uncomfortable in the house full of Vince’s miserable and depressed and sick grandfather, father and uncle. But there is a family secret that’s slightly mentioned which peaks Charlotte’s curiosity, and she wants to find out more. Meanwhile, Vince goes to the grocery store to buy booze for his grandfather because the bottle he had under the couch is missing, and while Charlotte is speaking to Bradley and wanting to know more about this secret and starts nagging a bit too much, he puts his hand into her mouth (at this point if I were her I would’ve run out of that house). But the secret that has doomed this troubled family is literally, and eventually, out of the bag, but not before Vince goes missing for the rest of the night and Halie returns home with the family pastor who’s just as uncomfortable in the house as Charlotte is. But it’s not until the final scene that leaves you with an image that you won’t soon forget.

Buried Child is a very wordy play. perhaps a bit too wordy, but it being a Sam Shepard play, there is lots that is over dramatic, over the top, and bordering close to the unbelievable. Surely cutting out one act would’ve made this play more biting, sharper and dramatic instead of long-winded, but director Scott Elliott is able, just, to keep the drama and tension up, while maintaining, until the very end, the mystery of this family’s tragic existence on earth.

Buried Child is now playing at Trafalgar Studios until February 18, 2017.

11th December 2016
THEATRE REVIEW | Strictly Ballroom – The Musical – West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds

★★★★| Hunky dance champion, Scott Hastings throws the uptight world of the Australian Ballroom Federation into disarray when he strays from tradition and introduces his own steps onto the dance floor of the competition. Horrifying his mother, his coach, his friends and, most importantly, the federation’s chairman, his new moves ignite a spark in Fran, the dance school’s ugly duckling. As Scott rejects his potential new partners and routines, he secretly practices with Fran, falling in love as they do. But as they head to the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Finals, not everything on the judging panel is ‘strictly ballroom’, and Scott is forced to choose between dancing from the approved moves and dancing from his heart.

In 1992, Baz Luhrmann opened his Red Curtain Trilogy of films with this offbeat satire on the world of ballroom dancing and the film quickly garnered critical praise and cult status. The show has come full circle, moving from stage to screen and back to stage in a production which is wildly vivacious, colourful and as camp as they come. Featuring songs from the film along with a number of new musical numbers, the camp factor is ramped up to the max, with the whole thing swishing around in a swirl of sequins, feathers, 80’s pastel shades and deliberately dodgy wigs.

Broadway veteran Sam Lips makes his UK theatre debut in the role of Scott, with his strengths primarily in his voice and his dancing; whilst Gemma Sutton relishes in a believable transformation from shy wall flower to leading lady, as Fran. Richard Grieve steals every scene he is in with his portrayal of the flamboyant Les Kendall and there are brilliantly understated performances from Tasmin Carroll and Stephen Matthews as Scott’s parents. Flesh out the cast with an ensemble of excellent dancers, including a plethora of perfect pecs and bulging biceps and you have a top notch cast who are clearly enjoying themselves as much as the audience.

The ingenious set design by Soutra Gilmour opened out into the key locations with remarkable versatility and comfortably accommodates Drew McOnie’s steady direction and thoroughly enjoyable choreography. The first act focuses primarily on the narrative, which never strays too far from the familiar film, whilst the second act opens up into a barrage of musical numbers which are unyielding from the opening number right up until the curtain falls, bringing the crown to their feet in thunderous approval.

With Strictly Come Dancing riding high in the public consciousness, the UK premiere of Strictly Ballroom is well timed, and proves just as undemanding but far more enjoyable than its nearest television counterpart. Whilst underneath the glitz, glam and gayness of it all, there is a rather corny Pygmalion-eque love story, this is one evening at the theatre that is more about the joy of the journey rather than the destination. Cheesy, tongue in cheek and with a distinct flavour of both irony and homage to the art form, it’s a smile inducing spectacle, and one can only hope that a national tour will follow.

Musicals really don’t come any gayer than this, and the show is a piece of unadulterated, joyous, feel-good theatre.

Strictly Ballroom is currently playing at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds until 21st January 2017. For tickets, further information and details of their new season, visit their website at www.wyp.org.uk or call the box office on 0113 213 7700

8th December 2016