Lord of the Dance

2
Michael Flatley's touring Irish dance show.
By Robert Iles - 25th Apr 2017

A troup of immensely talented dancers in a somewhat awkward show left me rather cold.

The story, a basic good (the man with the sparkly belt saying "Lord of the Dance") versus evil (the man with the helmet) tale really doesn't flow - in part because of the insistance on blackouts between scenes which killed the pace and were quite un-necessary. So many of the scenes seemed unrelated to the story that I found it hard to follow - was I meant to?

Like I say, the dancers are clearly very skilled at what they do but this is masked by the fact that the entire show is done to a monotonous and irritating click-track. There was also a lack of connection between the dancers, and between the dancers and their characters which was quite unnerving especially when juxtaposed with the enforced egotistical posturing of the leads.

To be honest, for me, the repeated sections of scantily clad dancers (all tits and teeth as my companion put it) twerking, all be it with some style, felt as out of place for a modern audience as a Minstrel Show would - but given the baying of sections of the audience every time the men took their tops off it might be me that's out of time - either way it did not feel comfortable.

Technically, the lack of front lighting left many dancers with darkened faces and moving in and out of each other's shadows. The jumbo screens distracted a lot and were often more engaging than the dance especially as the sequences were often bizarre; such as the unicorn on a 5 second feeding loop or the flocks of butterflies. One whole section of the displays failed for a while but we didn't miss much.

Sorry, I love dance shows but this really lacked a heart.


Latest News & Reviews

12th Mar 24 :: Review: Macbeth
English Touring Theatre (ETT) production seen in Worthing,
3
7th Mar 24 :: Review: The Life of Pi
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
5
6th Mar 24 :: Review: And Then There Were None
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
2
5th Mar 24 :: Review: Musclebound
Seen at The Front Room, Weston-super-Mare
3
2nd Mar 24 :: Review: Marry Me A Little
Seen at The Stage Door Theatre, Drury Lane
2
28th Feb 24 :: Review: Cable Street
Seen at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough.
3
28th Feb 24 :: Review: Carlos Acosta - On Before
Seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
4
26th Feb 24 :: Offies Winners 2024
WInners of the Offies 2024 awards have been announced.
15th Feb 24 :: Review: The Drifters Girl
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
12th Feb 24 :: Review: Whatsonstage Awards Winners
The winners of the Whatsonstage Awards announced.
0
6th Feb 24 :: Review: Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Selected dates until 26 February at the Coach and Horses, 29 Greek Street, London W1D 5DH
4
5th Feb 24 :: Review: Macbeth
David Tennant and Cush Jumbo at the Donmar Warehouse
4
20th Jan 24 :: Review: Disney's Aladdin
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
4
19th Jan 24 :: Review: Alegria - Cirque du Soleil
The latest production seen at the Royal Albert Hall
3
20th Dec 23 :: Review: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Pantomime seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
4
18th Dec 23 :: Review: Sleeping Beauty
Panto at the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing.
4
13th Dec 23 :: Review: A Christmas Carol
Guy Masterson's one-man production seen in Boscastle
5
7th Dec 23 :: Review: Oliver Twist
Seen at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol.
5
29th Nov 23 :: Review: 2:22 A Ghost Story
The 2023 tour seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth
5
15th Nov 23 :: Review: Radio GaGa
Seen at the Adelphi Theatre, London.
3

Most Popular Stories

Viewings over the last 10 days
6th Mar 24 :: Review: And Then There Were None
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. 136 views
13th Oct 23 :: Review: Birmingham Royal Ballet - Black Sabbath
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. 123 views
28th Feb 24 :: Review: Carlos Acosta - On Before
Seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth 123 views
12th Mar 24 :: Review: Macbeth
English Touring Theatre (ETT) production seen in Worthing, 109 views
5th Mar 24 :: Review: Musclebound
Seen at The Front Room, Weston-super-Mare 104 views
7th Mar 24 :: Review: The Life of Pi
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth 82 views
15th Feb 24 :: Review: The Drifters Girl
Touring production seen at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. 73 views
26th Feb 24 :: Offies Winners 2024
WInners of the Offies 2024 awards have been announced. 71 views
2nd Mar 24 :: Review: Marry Me A Little
Seen at The Stage Door Theatre, Drury Lane 69 views
12th Feb 24 :: Review: Whatsonstage Awards Winners
The winners of the Whatsonstage Awards announced. 68 views


Listings powered by Dynamic Listing Ltd
Mastodon X - Twitter Multidomain certificate installed
© Dynamic Listing Ltd, UK. 1995-2024