Singin' In The Rain At Nottingham Theatre Royal REVIEW

 

After the rainiest and wettest January in the history of all time EVER, you know what we could really do with? Some more rain. And you may think you've seen enough of every kind of rain to last a lifetime, but you ain't seen nothing till you've seen it honest-to-goodness chucking it down indoors.

Starring the forever-delectable Maxwell Caulfield (who, confidentially, will always, always be Miles Colby to us) as studio boss R F Simpson and Faye Tozer outta Steps reaching new heights of peroxided squeakiness as silent film starlet Lina Lamont, this adapted stage production also stars an incredible 12,000 litres of water in a technologically-triumphant, fun-drenched show.

Following in the soaking wet tap-dancing footsteps of the Singin' in The Rain movie is a helluva big ask and the transition to stage has led to sometimes choppy and cluttered scenes, but there are notable stand-out moments, the beautiful dancing precision of the girls in the bustin' out of the cake routine All I Do, the startlingly effective wriggling group dance-clump in Broadway Melody and then come on with the rain, because when it pours down fast on stage into mightily impressive shin-deep puddles, it's a mesmeric sight to behold and the no holds barred, no wishy-washy water conservation, full-on kickin' and splashingly- fantastic dance routines are truly exceptional and lift this show up to a highly original and special live theatre event.

Meanwhile, achieving the impossible feat of following madcap make 'em laugh meister Donald O' Connor and blowing everyone else out of the water is the superb knockabout fall-about Stephane Anelli as Cosmo Brown, oozing that sexy sass and ease of proper old Hollywood talent and effortlessly stealing every scene he's in, topping it all off with the Moses Supposes routine which gloriously captures the essence of the original and transports you right back into the movie.

Dripping with high-octane energy and soaked with style, confidentially, we recommend you grab your sou'wester and your fella with an umbrella, come in from the rain, go to the Theatre Royal and let yourself get, absolutely soaking wet. And you can sample a veritable soupçon of this squelchy, sloshy spectacle in the official trailer below.


Singin' in the Rain is at Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 15th February. Full details and ticket prices can be found on the Theatre Royal website here