Footloose at Theatre Royal Nottingham REVIEW

We've been busy, busy, busy since we launched Nottingham Confidential, but last night we decided to go out and treat ourselves to one of our favourite things- watching hot young guys dance, so merrily we tootled along to catch Footloose at Nottingham's Theatre Royal. Last night's audience had a huge group of teenage fans seated up in the Gods who were jumping up and down in a mixture of frenzied anticipation and mixed bagged sweets from the new candy stall in the theatre foyer (mmm, Jazzies).

At the strangely slighter late start of 8pm, down went the lights and up flashed the Footloose logo to an overture which began with 80s classic 'Holding Out For A Hero', frenetically accompanied by much squealing and foot stamping from our teenage Gods audience. And so the show starts, straight in there with the title song and dance routine, no messing around, flash bang wallop, just what you want, Footloose, Footloose belted out by an adorable and exceptionally gifted singing and dancing jumping-bean cast. From that point on, things started to slide somewhat, Footloose has the most see-through of thin plots, teenager moves from Chicago to a small hick town called Beaumont, falls for the Reverend's daughter, blah, blah, teenage rebellion and ...hell what? In Beaumont dancing has actually been banned (which confidentially, we have learned is actually based on a true story.) Bad news for dance fans and bad news for the musical as a whole as there isn't another really good routine until the start of Act Two, which truly is a wowzer. More drivelly plot ensues until dancing is finally allowed in Beaumont again and we hit the fifteen minute dance finale HALLELUJAH! If there's one thing Nottingham Confidential knows, it's that we know good dancing when we see it and boy, did we see it last night. The Footloose cast are the best dancers we've seen in this town in a looong time performing fantastically complicated routines including mid air splits all hit brilliantly by everyone. Truth is, the Footloose dancers are just way too good for Footloose, but for that fantastic last dance finale we still recommend you pull on your dancing shoes and hot foot it to the Nottingham's Theatre Royal, show ends this Saturday night.

Footloose is still showing at The Theatre Royal, Nottingham Friday 20th May 6pm and 9pm and Saturday 21st May 5pm and 8pm