Milton Keynes Theatre
Monday, February 7, to Saturday, February 12
As a child of the 80s I couldn't have been more excited taking my seat for the Milton Keynes stop of the national tour of Footloose - and I wasn't disappointed.
The acclaimed dance musical, which tells of newcomer Ren McCormack (played by Kevin Bacon in the film) fight to bring a dance to bring a dance to the strict small town of Bomont, is based on the iconic 1984 movie.
And 'based' is definitely the right word.
It had all the same songs, although they were sung to a different key or to an adapted tune - which for a hard-core Footloose fan like me (I know all the words to all the songs) took some getting used to.
And while the ending was slightly different, and the order of the scenes had been giggled about, it was still close enough to the original to keep me happy.
Sadly though they missed out the famous scene in which Kevin Bacon dances around the warehouse in a rage, which was a real shame as it really pinpoints the point where Ren can take the small town mentality no long and just has to let out his rage in dance.
I’m A Celebrity winner Matt Willis - from Busted - was great as the baddy Chuck, although his dancing left a lot to be desired.
And Steve Pinder - best known for playing Max Farnham in the long running soap Brookside - as Reverend Shaw Moore was convincing and heart-warming.
The rest of the cast were good and (mostly) lived up to their film counterparts and the audience was dancing in the aisle by the end.
Definitely worth a watch, but if you are a hard-fast fan of the film, go along with an open mind. You’ll need it.
