Sensational… from start to finish!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Press tickets for review

Having been fortunate enough to check out rehearsals for A Chorus Line and loving it, I was very excited to see the completed project. A Chorus Line was one of the shows of this year that I was already buzzing for, but after catching the behind the scenes, I was even more excited.

If you’re someone who loves dance heavy shows, this is one for you. There’s high kicks, there’s perfect unison, there’s leaps and jumps. It’s a stunning high energy show which offers an insight into the gruelling process of becoming a part of that chorus line in a broadway show.

It is a real celebration of the hard work that happens to create theatre shows. We get a closer look at the back stories of the hopeful chorus line, and with no leading lady, it really does give everybody in that line their chance to dazzle. We hear about humorous pre-teen anecdotes, he hear about sexual abuse, about dysfunctional families, and we hear about body insecurities, and we hear about the way dance has been an escapism from it all. For me, it ticked all the boxes for a triple threat theatre phenomenon.

As I said, there isn’t a leading performer so it would be quite easy to name the entire cast for their efforts that brought the show together. There wasn’t one person who I intensely watched throughout the performance, or found my eyes drawn to or my brain begging me to search for them in a crowd. Instead, I’d be focused solely on which cast member was delivering their solo, who was currently delivering lines, or watching the entire stage move in absolute perfect unison. I’d often be watching the stage as a whole and see the reactive acting from the cast and find it natural and entertaining.

I thought Chloe Saunders as Val Clarke was fabulous and loved her performance of Dance: Ten, Looks: Three. I have to mention Manuel Pacific as Paul San Marco who delivers an undeniably jaw dropping monologue which hooked you from the very first word. He had this power yet vulnerability to his projection and dominated and held the attention of an empty stage. Outstanding. Another highlight was At The Ballet by Sheila (Amy Thornton), Bebe (Lydia Bannister) and Maggie (Kate Parr) Their voices blended wonderfully together and the trio delivered utter emotion.

It’s the finale that really solidified and brought home the stars for me. With no interval, I expected it to be a long show but it in fact flew by, and you started to feel the weariness and gruelling effort yourself. All for the big crescendo. When it starts to feel weary, and you start to question if it’s all worth it. The finale comes and says, yes, yes it is! With all that glitz and glamour, the finale is a joyous celebration of song, dance, costume design, lighting and… pyrotechnics! It’s one of my favourite finales… ever!

I didn’t hesitate to be one of the first to jump up and give a standing ovation.

I did sometimes find the screen and recording to be a distraction, but on the whole I thought it worked better than when it was last used in Evita. I don’t think it brought much value except for character thought-tracking. It allowed them to seem natural as they looked back and they delivered their lines to the camera and thus the audience via screen. But it did mean that as they were ‘filming for play backs of rehearsals’ and with most of it being ‘filmed’ many would be deterred from the action and would automatically start watching the screen.

I thought this was an absolutely wonderful show and one that is… sensational from start to finish!

On at Curve until 13 July before a summer season at Sadler’s Wells.