Theatre review

Published on Thursday 18 September 2008 20:58

FLASHDANCE *** EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE

REMEMBER the 1980s movie in which Jennifer Beals played Alex, a welder by day and exotic dancer by night who dreamt of getting into ballet school? Well, here's that story again, adapted into a crowd-pleasing jukebox musical. Subplots vanish, along with characters. One of Alex's pals survives, but is renamed Gloria as an excuse to shoehorn the Laura Branigan pop classic into proceedings.

Dramatically, there's not a lot going on: will Alex get into dance school; will she go steady with the rich nice guy; and will needy Gloria take a job at an even seedier club?

Maybe the writers recognised this, because suddenly Alex has a chain-smoking mother – national treasure Bernie Nolan – ready to become musical roadkill.

Still, who comes to a "based on the movie" musical for the story? With Flashdance, it's all about the dancing, and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is stunning as Alex, moving around the stage with muscular grace.

The rest of the hoofers in the ensemble also shine – though this makes Alex's final dance audition (the film's big finish) less impressive than it should be.

There are one or two decent lines, well-delivered, but the funniest moment is an Arlene Phillips-choreographed nightmare sequence, as Alex spins around the stage, set upon by versions of her family and friends who think they're in Michael Jackson's Thriller video. Meant to be hugely emotional, it's simply hilarious in its clunkiness.

Lending support are ex-Hear'Say singer Noel Sullivan and former Coronation Street star Bruno Langley. We knew the former could sing up a storm, but what a surprise to hear Langley belt out a tune and inject a bit of gravitas into proceedings along the way.