"Kiss Me Quickstep" by Amanda Whittington.

Derby Theatre.

Last night I was in Belper watching "Gym n Tonic" written by John Godber. Tonight is the turn of a playwright who has been dubbed the "Midlands' John Godber", Amanda Whittington. Both playwrights manage to create characters that are human and speak like we do. They have human emotions and phrase things in the way that we would, and that is why I love the plays both John and Amanda write.

"Kiss Me Quickstep" is Amanda Whittington's sequin-studded play which looks at the real lives behind the fixed smiles and fake tan of the world of ballroom dance. We meet the couples and slowly we discover bits about their home life, their troubles, their past, personal history and what their journey has been up to the point of the dance competition, and why winning is so important to the seven characters we are introduced to.

Justin and Jodie have finally made it to the national ballroom-dancing championships in Blackpool - via the motorway hard shoulder. Luka's come all the way from Russia. Nancy's been training for this since she was three, with more than a little "help" from her father, Mick. Lee and Samantha arrive on a wave of success.

But what if your dance-floor dreams are turning into a nightmare? How do you stop dancing to other people's tunes? What can you do if your partner's secret could cost you the crown? And, even when the whole world's at your feet, it only takes one false step…

Ashley Gilmour is Justin, Jodie's partner on and off the dancefloor. Ashley has spent the last of his money, apart from £26.00, on actually getting them there after their car gave up the ghost on the hard shoulder. Justin is almost ready to give it all up to get a proper job to pay the debts, but Jodie has big dreams and would love that big dress to compete with the other dancers; so what can Justin do to juggle the finances and keep his partner happy? 

Jodie is played by Hollie Jane Stevens - who is also the Dance Captain. Jodie has dreams and is ready to fight for those dreams. She would love to be able to stay in The Imperial Hotel in a big flash bed while in Blackpool, but Justin may be able to scrape together some money for the pair to stay in a seedy Blackpool bed and breakfast. 

Jabex Sykes plays Luka who has travelled from Russia to partner Nancy in the Blackpool dance competitions. We discover what life was like for him back in Russia and how winning this competition would make a difference to him. He is a perfectionist and always feels the need to practice to better their performance, without Nancy's overbearing dancefloor stage father videoing every second of their practice and offering advice on where Luke - he never manages to even get his daughter's partner's name right - should be improving.

Nancy is played by Clair Gleave. It becomes apparent that while Nancy is serious about the competition, she also wants to rebel against her father and his rod of iron that he rules her with. We get an obsessive picture of Nancy's life with her father when Mick invites Justin and Jodie a bed for the night in his six bedroom home, and the conversation Justin and Jodie have the morning after!

Matthew Jeans plays Lee, one half of the partnership who are so good that they automatically qualify for the second section of the competition. Lee is very serious about winning and his reputation within the dance world, and would love to be a winner, whatever the cost and with whoever. We discover that he practically gave up any life outside the world of the dancefloor, willing to forego romance and family for dance and to be numero uno. 

Samantha, Lee's dance partner, is played by Isabel Snaas. To begin with, this pair look to be the perfect, professional pairing, but we all know that nothing is really that perfect, and there are cracks just beneath the surface, which soon show! There's a lovely analogy that Sam puts up about tropical fish and dancers which is a lovely vision, but the fragility and serenity of these gorgeous looking fish can also be broken when other fish start to nip at the tails of the most beautiful ones. You see where the simile between fish and the world of professional dancing is going? There's also quite a disturbing nightmare scene that Samantha is involved with, and we find out why this occurs within the play and what it means.

Mick, Nancy's dad is played by Jason Furnival. This is the male version of the typical stage mother; always pushing Nancy for stardom, but it seems that none of her partners have ever matched up to Mick's expectations. Mick has theories as to why Luka is really here, partnering Nancy, and because of these theories, tries to rig the contest, roping in another of the dancers, but he finds out that all the money he has does not sway the other dancer to do his bidding. Again, we get an inkling as to why Mick has become this kind of person later in the play.

The compere is played by a name that you should recognise, Alan Dedicoat, who is the voice of "Strictly Come Dancing". His voice is all that you get, but that is in keeping with what you see on "Strictly" anyway.

Leo Wan provides the Voiceover, providing the commentary of the running of the competition, the winning pairs throughout the competition as well as the dance style listings. It moves the play on perfectly.

Needless to say, due to the subject matter of the play, the choreography is excellent, and all six dancers are likewise very proficient in every dance that they perform. Choreographed by Joanna Goodwin, assisted by Matt Gillett, anyone who, like myself, love "Strictly Come Dancing" will love this choreography, and love seeing these dancers perform.

Directed by Lilac Yosiphon, it's almost like the play hasn't been directed by anyone because the script is delivered the way you'd expect to hear from anyone down your street. As I said at the start, Amanda writes for East Midlands people, the way they speak and the way they act, and the direction keeps that common people feel, which is why this whole play is so warmly received by the Thursday night audience. The dancing I've covered but the acting, partnerships and chemistry between the seven characters is something that has to come from the actors under the direction of someone who knows what they want from this script, and also what the audience wants to see and feel. And that box has been well and truly ticked by this Director.

Costumes and Set Design is by Eleanor Field. Maria Terry is the Assistant Designer. All the glamour and sparkle you'd expect from ballroom and Latin costumes are included. The male costumes are almost as revealing as those for the women, and still every bit as glamorous. As they twirl and sashay across the stage you can see that vision of tropical fish with their colourful, flowing fins.

The set is dominated by the dancefloor, bookended with rows of chairs but with an upper dressing room set, which clearly shows the pecking order of the couples as this is occupied by Lee and Samantha. Flats (scenery) are lowered into place when required to indicate the other's separate dressing rooms. A really nice touch is the row of cocktail tables right in front of the stage, occupied by ticket buying members of the public, and top off the glamour, three enormous chandeliers which look like the one used in "The Phantom Of The Opera", which are lowered at times for reasons that I will not spoil!

Sound Design and Composer is Lee Affen. It's just like being (I imagine) in the Strictly Ballroom with the snatches of these wonderful songs that accompany the gorgeous dance routines; my favourite being the big Quickstep to the sound of "Big Noise From Winnetka". Derby Theatre has one of the best sound designs for a theatre of this size and yet again, the sound was brilliant.

Lighting Design is by David Coull. Well, you can imagine the fun that David must have had designing the lighting for this show. From the brilliance of the big dance numbers to the more intimate lighting for the slower ballroom pieces, and then the "disturbing nightmarish" section. Great sound design and great lighting go hand in hand, especially in this show.

Another thing that I really like about Amanda Whittington is that there's sometimes a little twist in the storylines and here there's a very subtle twist, unless I am reading into it wrong. There's a scene where Nancy pays a visit to Luka in the middle of the night and a certain reaction is explained away. That reaction is then (possibly) explained away right near the end! Again I will not spoil that bit for you; maybe I am reading it wrong, who knows? 

If you love "Strictly" and the behind the scenes back biting and bitchiness that sometimes spill out into the National papers of competitions such as this, you will LOVE this play. It is down to earth, it is funny, it is sad and it will make you want to dance down into the car park humming "da da da da da da da, da da da da da, da da" (Strictly TV Theme).

It's a 10 from me!

"Kiss Me Quickstep" is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 21 June.