Review: Ballroom Blitz

Some might think we’d had our fill of the foxtrot. Not Dave Windass. While television screens might be having a brief respite before the inevitable return of Strictly and Dancing on Ice, the man best known for penning plays about rugby league, has turned his attention to ballroom.

Ballroom Blitz is part Young Ones, part Full Monty, as Sharon, beautifully played by Susan Twist, tries to hang onto her beloved dance school under threat from an unsympathetic developer – think Harry Enfield’s Loadsamoney character – and her youthful dreams of being the best in Blackpool.

Yet Ballroom Blitz is also about her daughter Tammy’s (Catherine Kinsella) search for her ideal partner and Trev’s (Alexander Delamere) need to find meaning in his life following the death of his wife.

Add in his son Paul (Benjamin O’Mahony) who is also struggling with his own grief and Ballroom Blitz suffers from too many characters all wanting the lead role.

That said, there are some impressive performances, in particular for O’Mahony who slips seamlessly between playing the meek Paul and the heartless developer Simon.

Thanks to Windass’ script and his ear for the kind of dialogue which wouldn’t be out of place in a Victoria Wood sketch, Ballroom Blitz is a fun evening out. Overly long, perhaps, but it will satisfy those with a pang for Strictly.

To June 30.