REVIEW: Strictly Ballroom: The Musical – a glittering night of hot dancing in Birmingham
Rangzeb Hussain
October 31, 2022
On a cold and wet Halloween evening, with the night coming in earlier after the end of British Summer Time, hearts were warmed by the glittering dancing on The Birmingham Hippodrome stage as Strictly Ballroom: The Musical heated up the temperature.
The hot show blazed and dazzled with an array of stunning dance sequences – and madcap comedy – that had the audience clapping and tapping along to the lively tunes despite a delayed start on the press night of the show.
Film director Baz Luhrmann (Elvis, The Great Gatsby) released a low-budget movie called Strictly Ballroom 30 years ago which went on to win awards and become one of the most successful Australian films of all time.
Ellie Kurttz The hit movie is now a stage musical which is touring across the UK and delighting audiences in search of some glitz and glamour in dark and dour times.
The musical boasts a book by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!) and the director – and also co-choreographer – of the show is Craig Revel Horwood (Strictly Come Dancing).
This is the kind of live stage show (with a live music band) that thrills and fires up the human soul on cold autumn nights.
Ellie Kurttz The musical follows the ups and downs of a radical ballroom dancer named Scott Hastings who is on a mission to peel back the curtain and shake up the fusty rule bound choreography of ballroom dancing with some rollicking new moves and styles.
To make matters even more radical and shocking for the folk who run and control the ballroom dancing scene Scott selects a total beginner as his partner.
Fran is a shy and unassuming cleaner who keeps herself to herself and rarely ventures out into the big wide world despite nursing dreams of becoming a dancer.
The partnership between Scott and Fran develops into a sweet love story where the two begin to inspire each other with their unique abilities.
Ellie Kurttz The couple overcome the prejudice and snobbery leveled at them by other dancers and by the judges who officiate at the dancing competition where Scott hopes to break with stuffy tradition and usher in an exciting new era for the world of ballroom dancing.
The message of the show is simple and clear: to break the mould, challenge stale ideas and forage ahead with new love and passion.
The cast and crew deliver what can only be described as a thrilling and energetic night full of hot dancing and lilting singing.
The show is packed with sensational dancing which is so thrilling that that some members of the audience were tempted to rise up and dance along to the palpable energy that was being transmitted by the talented performers.
Ellie Kurttz The lighting flowed over the stage and enveloped the dancers as performers swung and swirled around the stage dressed like birds of paradise.
The outfits literally glittered and sparkled as the action moved from one showstopping dance sequence to the next.
Strictly Ballroom: The Musical is a glitzy show full of colourful and pulsating glamour that had the audience dancing and clapping as the story moved towards a fiery climax.
VERDICT: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Strictly Ballroom: The Musical is running at The Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 5 November
