It is, incredibly, more than 30 years since young Australian theatre director Baz Luhrmann turned a play he co-wrote into a quirky and quite niche film about rebellion in the world of ballroom dancing - which launched his incredible movie career, and sparked the eventual resurgence in ballroom dancing as mainstream entertainment.
That film was released so long ago, that an entire generation in Britain may not even know the ‘Strictly’ part of the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing, which itself started back in 2004, derives from this Australian movie.
But now, Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood is reclaiming the original Strictly story, by directing and choreographing a stage musical of the original film - and it opened last night for a week-long run at the Hippodrome in Bristol.
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So theatre-goers expecting a Strictly Come Dancing type musical didn’t get exactly what they bargained for. Instead, they got something much better. Kevin Clifton, who starred as a Strictly professional for seven years in the 2010s, is the lead role of Scott Hastings, an open amateur with dreams of winning the pan-Pacific championship but with a dancing style that is not ‘strictly’ ballroom dancing.
Alongside him, the role of Fran, the ‘beginner’ who Scott secretly trains up in three weeks, is played by Faye Brookes, perhaps best known as Kate Connor from Coronation Street.
And those two provided the first and best surprises of the night. Firstly - it’s a musical, and Kevin is actually a great singer. The two mature Bristolian ladies behind me on the opening night whispered a delighted ‘who knew?!’ to each other as he belted out his first number.
And the second is that Faye is a terrific dancer, taking us on a journey from meek and tentative Fran to the fiery and elegant dancer who wows everyone.
This was a production that was first announced four years ago, and has been badly delayed by Covid. So it’s worth forgiving the feeling that, at 40 now, Kevin might seem too old to play the young rebel Scott Hastings - don’t worry, he does manage to pull it off.
The production, choreography and feel of the musical is an absolute riot. It perfectly captures the inherent ridiculousness of the Strictly Ballroom world Luhrmann created on film back in 1992. The supporting cast are properly and rightly caricatures rather than characters, except for one in particular, who steals the show.
Legendary Spanish choreographer and dancer Jose Agudo is an absolute cut above everyone else on stage in his role as Rico, Fran’s powerful pasodoble-dancing father, lighting up the stage whenever he’s on it. The scene in Fran’s home as he teaches the young couple is the highlight of the entire show, and gives the entire thing a gravitas to back up the inherent silliness of the rest of it.
But overall, it felt the stage was often too small to contain the mayhem, movement and colour of this 100mph spectacle of song and dance. It ebbed and flowed, and often the best bits were the smaller scenes just between the two leads, who had a great chemistry on stage. It’s on at the Hippodrome all week, and was definitely worth the wait.
