REVIEW: Lord of the Dance at New Theatre
Lord of the Dance is an incredibly popular show with millions of ardent followers worldwide. It's fair to say that, before witnessing the spectacle at last night's (Tuesday 10 September) New Theatre press night, I didn't count myself among them.
My consumption of professional dance was somewhat restricted. Sure, I enjoyed the occasional episode of Strictly, notwithstanding its tarnished reputation of late. And I had been truly wowed by Cinderella on Ice at ICC Wales last Christmas with the family. The choreography, athleticism and casual strength of the performers was extraordinary, so I hoped to have a similar response to Lord of The Dance.
Lord of The Dance - A Lifetime Of Standing Ovations, marks a return to the UK for Michael Flatley's globally successful production. It's described as a dazzling revival of the iconic dance extravaganza and the claims are supported by serious commercial numbers.
Since its premiere more than 25 years ago, over 60 million people in 60 countries and across over 1,000 venues have witnessed the show. This is a mighty profitable footprint. The show is pretty big on feet. There are apparently over 150,000 taps per performance to accompany precision dancing, artistic lighting, and breathtaking pyrotechnics.
There's energetic Irish dancing, storytelling, original music. The publicity also suggested the showpiece extravaganza was responsible for transporting the audience to a mythical realm. By 7.45pm on a rain-soaked Tuesday evening at Cardiff's New Theatre, I was quite ready to be transported to a mythical realm, and had my senses wide open to receive the spectacle.
This show proved to be simple escapist fare. For any ardent fans of super fast tap-dancing and traditional Irish music, the show is an absolute must. For anyone seeking a story of any subtlety and depth, this show is unlikely to satisfy.
In this mythical realm, everything is blissfully straightforward and completely binary. Gender representation is traditional and one-dimensional: the women are pretty and have many different sparkly dresses. Sometimes they appear like fairies, sometimes like US high school cheerleaders. The men are masculine and tough. Both appear in various states of undress.
There is virtuous innocence and devilish impurity. There is no performer of colour. One costume indicates the catholic connection. It didn't feel like a show that truly embraces modern diversity, or one that would definitely age well for future generations. But older generations in this audience appeared to love it, rhythmically hand-clapping with great gusto.
An ever-changing video screen backdrop was awash with bright colours befitting the song and scene: sometimes dark red with licks of fire, other times an idyllic green with fluttering doves and butterflies, but alas no unicorns.
We flipped from goodies to baddies with each scene, and observed their conflict. The puffed-up male baddies resembled a cross between Power Rangers and something you might have seen in 1980s science fiction classic, Flash Gordon. (How I would have loved to see a tap-dancing Brian Blessed).
The black-clad, female baddies writhed around on the floor. The show seems to rinse and repeat the cycling scenes through a Technicolor palette, using the tried, tested, and widely loved formula. A tap-dancing fight scene finale was one of the more imaginatively choreographed, and did elicit a smile.
Interspersed with the good-bad posturing were big, belting, solo power ballads from another female performer who didn't tap-dance.
It is impossible to see this show without seeing a lot of Michael Flatley, although he is never present. Flatley's own last dance came on a 2016 tour, but he remains the mastermind of this show: its creator, producer, director and choreographer. That's in spite of his 2023 diagnosis with an aggressive form of cancer.
As of June 2024, he was reportedly in remission after treatment. The production subtitle A Lifetime Of Standing Ovations hints at a sensitivity around mortality, and suggests a desire to firmly underline the longevity of success, perhaps for the benefit of a new generation of fans.
Indeed, this update of the show was designed to appeal to new fans, so perhaps my entry-point wouldn't be an issue. The show is bookended with heroic video montages paying tribute to his global success and role in the show. At the end, we are shown a triptych video sequence of Flatley dancing, and observing himself dancing, and dancing with himself. The show subtitle A Lifetime Of Standing Ovations is then repeated, almost inviting the audience to give a standing ovation. Some did, and some didn't.
Lord of the Dance continues at the New Theatre, Cardiff today (Wednesday) and tomorrow (Thursday), with performances at 2.30pm and 7.45pm Tickets are available from the box office on 0343 310 0041 or by clicking here.
Review by Mark Hawkins
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