Showbiz review by Julia Pattison: Footloose at York Theatre Royal

Venue: York Theatre Royal

Dates: Until Saturday, April 2

Review by: Julia Pattison

It was good to cut loose as following two critically acclaimed tours and a West End run, Footloose exploded onto York Theatre Royal stage on 29th March, getting our toes tapping from the very start of the show.

We were taken back to a time when teenagers really did have something to rebel against, in this all-singing all-dancing feel good musical, where every cast member played an instrument, and whose exuberance and energy was infectious.

When leading man Joshua Hawkins (playing city boy Ren who has reluctantly moved to American rural backwater Bomont) sang “I Can’t Stand Still”, you knew exactly how he felt.

This was an 80s music fan fest, with hit after hit being played, from the iconic number Holding Out For A Hero to Let’s Hear It For The Boy.

And boy, were we in for a treat with Jake Quickenden’s performance as loveable Country Bumpkin Willard, who proved he had a great comic talent, and had the audience cheering him from the beginning.

The crowd went wild when as he became their Golden Hero.

Darren Day played Reverend Shaw Moore most convincingly; ever since the loss of his son in a car accident he had changed into an overprotective, unreasonable parent.

Lucy Munden was superb in the role of his daughter Ariel, feisty and rebellious one minute, then emotionally vulnerable the next.

Fabulous choreography from Matt Cole, amazing set design by Sara Perks (the cheeky peek-a-boo locker scenes were particularly effective) along with a talented cast who left you breathless with their energetic performances, all made for a fizzing night’s entertainment.

Darren Day got his moment in the spotlight in the fab Footloose Finale when Rev Shaw was able to cut loose, with Holly Ashton who played his wife Viv, dancing alongside the young cast, beaming broadly like a benevolent Mum.