“Footloose” by Kristian Thomas Company
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Ren McCormack arrives in town with his mother and is in shock when he discovers the small Midwestern town of Bomont he now calls home, has made dancing and rock music illegal. As he struggles to fit in, Ren faces an uphill battle to change things.

With the help of his new friend, Willard Hewitt, and defiant teen Ariel Moore, he might loosen up this conservative town. But Ariel’s influential father, Reverend Shaw Moore, stands in the way. How can he change the mindset of the Reverend and the townsfolk?

"Footloose" has always been a bit of a favourite of mine, and I've seen a few productions, both local theatre and professional, but this productions tops the lot.

The pure energy explodes from the stage and there are three things that make this production for me perfect.

The acting by the whole cast just blew me away. It was like I'd never seen the play before and I sat there agape at the incredibly professional performances presented by every single person on stage.

The singing was amazing (sorry i used that word again). the ensemble/group vocals were like a tidal wave that hit you in the face. You could feel the force of their voices hit you in the chest and go through you.

The soundtrack has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me and had my toes tapping all night long

If you’ve seen the stage version of this musical, you’ll already know that the songs are as catchy as measles, “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”, “Footloose”, the gorgeous “Almost Paradise”, “Holding Out For A Hero”, “Somebody’s Eyes”, “Heaven Help Me” and the lyrically comic “Mama Says”. This song in particular extracted such a massive response from the audience and the choral harmonies at the end of the song were heavenly.

The third part being the incredible choreography. I have but one word "WOW!" The energy and sharpness of the moves made this one of the best choreographed pieces of theatre I've seen lately. the hoe down section was a visual dream. It also helps when the cast has an abundance of brilliant dancers. Once again I was left open-mouthed at the dancing from start to end.

Alysha Gomes directed this wonderful show. It was so tight, even changing scenes while the back end of the previous scene was being played out, making a smooth move from one to the next.

Produced and choreographed by Kristian Cunningham. What can I say? One of the best choreographers in the area. i knew that i was in for a cracking good dance show, but Kristian has elevated that bar with his professional knowledge.

The music was loud, just the way i like it, and it didn't drown anyone out. The Duchess Theatre has recently had a new sound mixing system installed and the sound has never been better or clearer. Tom Bond is the Musical Director and I was amazed to find out that all of that sound was the result of just three people, Matt Henderson (keyboards), Jeff Widdowson (Bass) and Tom on drums.

Making sure that the sound was perfect was sound designer Harry Greatorex with Stephen Greatorex providing another wonderful lighting design.

Tom Simpson (Ren) showed what an incredible dancer he was incorporating many dance styles from line dancing to moonwalking. How this man has the energy to do what he did, sing and act without showing any signs of being out of breath I don't know. i do not normally stop behind after performances but I had to stay to let Tom knew what an amazing job he did - that and to make sure that he was really human and not some kind of singing/dancing machine. His comedy and his chemistry with the other roles in this musical is very natural and a joy to watch.

Shannon O'Donnell (Ariel) shows the two sides of her character, Ariel. She's ballsy but on the flip of a coin she shows that softer romantic side, beautifully proven with her duet with Ren in "Almost Paradise". A wonderful casting for Shannon as it also gets to show off her gorgeous voice.

Phil Stanley plays Reverand Shaw Moore. I have been a fan of Phil's for a while now, mainly to do with his silky soulful voice, which is dripping with emotion in "Heaven Help Me". But it was one of his speeches at the end which for me hit home, and i found myself welling up.

Deborah McPherson played Vi Moore, wife to the Reverand and mother of Ariel. Torn between being the loyal wife and her daughter, recalling what she was like as a teenager where boys were concerned. I loved the duet she performed with Ethel Mccormack, one of my favourite female duet pieces in musical theatre. Great emotion.

Carrie-Anne Corner plays Ethel, Ren's mum. This may not be the biggest role in the play but I love the way that this character sticks up for her son while trying to keep the peace with the family. Not the biggest part but we do get to hear Carrie-Anne's lovely singing voice.

Beth Denham plays Rusty. Wonderfully spirited and what a wonderful voice. Her rendition of "Let's Hear It For The Boy" was out of this world, again my gob had never been so smacked hearing some of those notes she hit and the length of some of those notes.

Willard was played by Joe Millward. This character has always been one of my favourites in this show and his performance of this character is even better than the professional productions I've seen. He won the audience over 100% with his dancing and his comic skills, not to mention that brilliant version of "Mama Says". Another young actor that I had to say hello to after the show and to show my appreciation of his talents.

Jack Draper played the bullying boyfriend of Ariel, and I was quite surprised, but pleased that he evoked a reaction from some of the audience near me when he insulted the girls in the show and showed his bullying and controlling side. Surprised because audiences don't normally react like that but pleased because it showed that they were totally believing in his character, which showed what a talented actor Jack is, and the character of Chuck Cranston is as far away as Jack's own character as you can get.

Lots of comedy provided by Ariel's friends Urleen (Anna Cousins) and Wendy Jo (Shona Manderson), who also add more glamour to the production.

On the male side you have Lyle (Benito Preite) and Travis (Lucas Young). Both of these actors are also excellent dancers and they get to show off some incredibly energetic moves throughout.

I've seen, and heard many comments about KTC's production of "Footloose" all saying that it is as good as any professional show and I will certainly back that 100%. When you have the quality of cast, production team and technical team as this group have, it's hardly surprising that the quality is of a high professional standard.

I would gladly have sat through this show every night and not found one negative comment. I know, because I get to see so many pieces of local theatre, that local stages and production companies have an immense amount of talent, and at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton, it's a hot bed of amazing people.

I can't find enough superlatives to compliment this company, cast and production, so I'll let you, the theatre lover discover for yourself. I for one left the theatre exhausted but incredibly happy.

“Footloose is at the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton until Saturday 7 April 2018.