"Footloose" by Erewash Musical Society Youth Group

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Imagine living in a town that has banned dancing and you’re a teenager. Following a tragic accident, dancing has been outlawed in the town of Bolmont in the USA by Reverand Shaw Moore. Ren McCormack, who has just moved to Bolmont with his mom, feels like a stranger in an even stranger world, and some of the kids, and adults of Bomont make his move to his new home difficult, making him feel unwelcome. But Ren enjoys a good dance, but can he get the kids on his side and change the law laid down by Reverend Moore?

After watching this production, I find myself asking just how high a bar can be raised because the last Youth Group performance I saw a few weeks ago, I said that the bar had been raised; well, it's been raised again! This musical deals with a few adult issues, as well as those that effect the teenagers of Bolmont, but it was like watching an adult's version of the musical, the quality of acting and performance was so mature.

Ren, the rebel, was played magnificently by Joel Dawson. I've seen Joel before so I'm well aware of his confidence when on stage, but the energy and confidence, not to mention his ability to deliver choreography with swagger that did not look staged, and sing like I've not heard him sing like before is gob smackingly good. The falsetto parts of "Almost Paradise" had, I think, been arranged in a lower key so as not to stretch Joel's vocals too far, but he's a young man and there is plenty of time to develop that range even more. A perfect choice for a leading man.

Ariel, who is the Reverand's daughter and Ren's love interest is also perfectly cast in the shape of Bethan Moore. I love Bethan's voice, and with following these young people in shows over the years, you get to see the progression of their talents and their voices, and Bethan's vocals are so controlled and increasing in power with every show.

Reverend Shaw Moore is played by Drew Boswell, and yet again a very mature performance, playing a character quite a bit older than himself. He plays serious roles really well which means that near the end when the character softens, there is a nice light and shade experience. Drew's vocals have also come on from when I saw him perform last and he has got stronger on the vocal front.

Vi, the Reverand's wife, is played by Izzy Cole. This is no easy ride playing this role because there is one section where she has to lose it with her husband, and to get that emotion into play isn't easy when the experience needed to bring that anger to the surface and project with feeling, but Izzy really impressed me with this performance. Her voice is lovely and the emotion is highlighted in her solo "Can You Find It In Your Heart"

Ariel's best mates, Rusty, Urleen and Wendy-Jo are played by Katie Chamberlain, Gabriella Tilley and Livvi Hickling respectively. These three absolutely nailed the accent. They are like a visible Greek chorus supporting their best friend Ariel, and when their vocals blend, they sound almost heavenly.

Ethel, Ren's mother, is played with admirable sympathy for the situation that she has landed herself and her son in, by Sky Stacey. Playing a character quite a bit older than your own age calls for certain skills; the way you move, the way you talk and the way that you hold yourself on stage, and Sky has obviously taken in everything she has collected for this part, and given out a mature and maternal character performance.

Chuck is Ariel's boyfriend when we first meet him, but he's a bully and soon gets very jealous when he sees the attention that Ren is paying to Ariel. Chuck is played by Evan Hagan. The typical "bully" character is not known for his singing or dancing abilities but Evan delivered some very good footwork and his voice has a lovely rasp to it and is powerful. I can see Evan in something like "We Will Rock You" with his vocal technique.

Willard, the "bumpkin" character is played by one of my favourite young actors - I know I shouldn't really have favourites and be unbiased - James O'Boyle. James is another one that I've seen mature on stage. He has funny bones and coming across as naturally funny is perfect for this comedic role. One of my favourite songs from this show is "Mama Said", which Willard has to sing, and to get all the comic timings for this song spot on is important, and James did. Willard can't do "it", and by "it" he means dance. One of the scenes involves Ren teaching Willard to dance. Now I know that James can dance and it is harder to do something badly when you can do it well isn't that easy. Just look at Les Dawson's piano playing for instance, Les was an expert pianist and to play incorrectly when you are good at what you do is hard. James made this scene funny.

Coach Dunbar, a nasty piece of work, is played by Toby Wykes. Although only a lesser role, the dominance we see via Toby makes the character a memorable one.

Cowboy Bob, the saloon singer is played by Harry O'Boyle, again a young actor I've had the pleasure of seeing grow on stage. What I liked about this performance is that we really got to hear Harry sing solo, which hopefully we'll see more of in future productions.

Jeter is played by Elis Moore. Now I have seen Elis before but in this production, he really shone for me. There is always one or two young actors who catch your eye for whatever reason, and tonight Elis did that. What I noticed was the energy he injected into his role, the facial expressions when dancing and the obvious love for the choreography. He is a natural actor and managed to show off his ability to be comical, especially as one of the backing singers in "Mama Said" and as the cop who accosted Ren. Elis' star is on the rise and I don't think it'll be too long before we see a leading man come forth from him.

I love it when there's a large ensemble of named characters because it gives everyone a chance to shine. they are Rosey Malins (Bickie), Eleanor Cooper (Garvin), Eloise Chamberlain (Lori), Yasmin Aldous (Lyle), Sophie Forman (Travis), Jessie Gatehouse (Lulu), Kai Hagan (Wes), Lauren Hazeldine (Eleanor), Lowri Moore (Principal Clark), Grace Sims (Betty Blast - what a great character name by the way), Martha Smart (Susan), Jessie Jerram (Kristy and last but by no means least, Blake Hagan (Rick).

Directed by Chris Renshaw, he has given us a great fun show with some moral messages intact. This show is packed to the ceiling with energy, in fact I think the roof may be loose with the amount of energy given off on stage tonight. It's fast, it's fun and every one on stage looked like they were loving it to bits, well almost as much as the packed-out theatre audience were.

Choreographed by Hayden Fletcher, one of my favourite choreographers. I know how hard working and how much fun he is to be around and when you can get a cast to soak up the choreography with as much energy as they put in to their performance on stage, and show that they are enjoying the choreography, it doesn't seem like hard work. Hayden asks a lot from his cast and they return it, it's so obvious just by watching them. I must not forget to also mention that Abigail Lagou was the Assistant Choreographer.

The Set Design is simple but effective for what is needed and when backed with a video design for the railway and church interior scenes, you don't have to use any imagination to get all that you need from the individual scenes and settings.

The soundtrack features some great songs like “Let’s Hear It For The Boy”, “The Girl Gets Around”, “Somebody’s Eyes”, the gorgeous “Almost Paradise”, “Holding Out For A Hero” and of course the boot scootin’ title track. Every one under the expert guidance of Musical Director George Parkinson. What I especially noticed was his control of the volume of the band. there were a few sound issues - which I will come to shortly, but George obviously noticed and toned the band down a touch to make sure that we could hear the vocals from on stage. Great sounding band as well.

Lighting is by Richard Chamberlain, and an exciting and vibrant design adding that extra sheen to the show.

Sound is by Dave Dallard and Jack Clark. You know that I am all over it if mics are not working or cues missed, well it became obvious in Act One that something was not right in this department. I discovered in the interval that there were technical issues, something that no one, even the most skilled sound person could have foreseen. The actors on stage must have realised something was not right but they carried on and projected. Act two after the interval saw everything sorted out and corrected. It was a technical issue but the speed that this was remedied deserves a big old pat on the back of the sound team.

Brilliant costumes all round, all sourced by EMUS Committee, friends and family.

And finally, would this show have been as slick as it was without the co-ordination of the Stage Manager, Mark Robbins and his crew.

This was another show that I knew at the end of the first act that I'd be on my feet at the final bows, and I kept that promise to myself, after which we all treated to that magnificent Footloose Megamix. What a way to start the weekend!

"Footloose" is at the Duchess Theatre until Saturday 8 July.