Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, Symphony Hall, Birmingham - review
It was a performance jam-packed full of high quality Irish dance - even if the story played out on stage didn't quite make sense.
Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance has been entertaining audiences for more than 20 years.
Taking to the stage at Birmingham's Symphony Hall last night it was easy to see how the gravity-defying jumps, fast foot work and incredible timing still means the company are well known and respected.
However, the bungled narrative, involving a Puck-like, fiddle-playing character dressed in a gold unitard performing contortionism pitted against an uber-masculine half-man-half-robot villain was tired and confusing.
When the production starts, it has a semi-religious feel, with monks apparently worshipping the Lord of the Dance. Then it cuts to the gold fairy completing back bends and tricks in front of projected images of butterflies and waterfalls. An encounter with the villain follows with his minions performing a military-inspired Irish dance.
This is followed by the women of the production entering in pastel coloured baby doll dresses to perform a feminine routine. Later, they take off the top layer of their clothes to dance in just their bras, dance pants and a pair of tights.
This, combined with the siren character gyrating in Lycra trying to win the affections of the Lord of the Dance, combined with the men tearing off their shirts in the second act, gave the production an obvious gendered feel.
The dancing itself could not be faulted. The strength and power of the dancers were obvious as they made their complicated steps looked effortless.
The interludes in which two fiddlers came on to play in sequined dresses and a vocalist delivered a couple of ballads was enjoyable, if not unexpected.
The slightly older audience did, however, seem to love the production - clapping and stomping their feet for more.
But to this reviewer, the show could have perhaps benefited from a more streamlined narrative, a stripping-back of what appeared to be a strange tale of good versus evil and more focus on what we were all there to see - amazing dancing by dedicated and talented performers.
By Jessica Labhart
