Dirty Dancing At The Bournemouth Pavillion Review

Reviewed  by Lisa

‘Nobody puts baby in a corner!’ Most of us know and love the film Dirty Dancing, with iconic lines and songs that get you singing along, so we couldn’t turn down the opportunity to go and see a live production of it when it came to town. From start to finish we were encapsulated by this amazing production, full of energy, passion and fun! The dancers and singers were incredible, with a few excelling in both roles. The music was provided by live musicians who were not confined to a pit, but brought onto the stage with the rest of the cast. Being musicians ourselves, we were impressed with how they got in to character and played the whole show without looking at any music. The production featured the famous hit songs Hungry Eyes, Hey! Baby, Do You Love Me? and I’ve Had The Time Of My Life, and the audience cheered and clapped along on many occasions. There were also quite a few comedic moments which brought a laugh from the audience and helped to balance out the serious storyline.

The production was faithful to the film, with the characters dressing and acting very much like those that we know, making it easy to tell who was who. They managed to tell the story really well, using quick and clever scene changes that integrated well. The water scene was very cleverly shown, and everyone was excited that the famous ‘lift’ was included at the end as we all held our breath to see if it would work or not! The ending was definitely the highlight as Johnny ran down the aisle from the back of the stalls to get to Baby and perform the final dance numbers, with the rest of cast performing the dance behind him. The performance received a standing ovation from everyone and I absolutely loved it from start to finish!

Michael O’Reilly played Johnny, and Kira Malou played Baby, and not only were they fabulous dancers but brought the show to life. When Johnny took his shirt off for the first time many of the ladies in the audience got very excited! They had so much energy and really put everything they had in to the performance, as did the rest of the cast.

Bournemouth Pavilion is a lovely theatre right by the sea, with a car park just next door if you’re driving, although it is quite pricey. All the buses through the town centre also stop at the end of the road so really easy to get to. The seats were comfortable and we were in the stalls so had a great view. The show lasted for 2 hours, plus a 20 minute interval where you could go to the bar for a drink (which you could take into the theatre) or buy an ice cream or more snacks. We had a fabulous evening and I would definitely recommend the show to others. However, I would also add due to some of the dancing styles and some of the topics covered, I would only recommend it for teenagers upwards.

Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £31.50 – £57.50
Dirty Dancing is at Bournemouth Pavilion from 20th – 24th June and touring the UK and beyond.
For more information or to book tickets visit https://www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk/ or email  bhlive.tickets@bhlive.org.uk
Address: Bournemouth Pavilion, Westover Rd, Bournemouth, BH1 2BU