A Night of Dirty Dancing at the Assembly Hall Theatre Review
A Night of Dirty Dancing
Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells
16 April 2016
Reviewed by Amanda Hayes
My mum and I set off to Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall full of anticipation yesterday evening for A Night of Dirty Dancing. We love seeing shows at Tunbridge Wells Assembly hall it’s a great venue with a large car park two minutes’ walk away (all night parking only £1), a well-stocked bar with ice creams and snacks and the auditorium has comfortable seating.
We weren’t sure what to expect from the show as we knew it wasn’t the stage show running across the country and that instead it was a tribute to the film Dirty Dancing. Sometimes the tributes can be a bit dry and disappointing but we both loved the music from the film so thought even if it’s just a sing along it would be fun. Well when the show started we could see straight away that the evening was going to be jam packed full of excellent entertainment and lots of laughs and the rest of the show certainly lived up to the great start.
With a small cast of around ten they relived the film in a modern alternative way, basing the whole production on the end of the season show at the Kellerman’s. The compare was just so funny that the audience were laughing the whole way through. All the great songs were in there, She’s Like the Wind, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Do You Love Me, Be My Baby and Hungry Eyes interspersed with telling of the story so far in a humorous way. Shortly into the performance Lisa, Baby’s sister told of her trouble finding a man, and so one was picked out of the audience. He came up onto stage and was asked to dance, men beware of sitting in the front row if you don’t like dancing! It was great fun and he was mentioned throughout the show in various scenarios bringing it all together.
The singing and dancing was excellent and the male dancers didn’t hesitate to get their shirts off throughout the performance showing well-toned bodies. Don’t worry though, for the men in the audience there are plenty of skimpy outfits on the ladies!
If you are avid watcher of Dirty Dancing you will know what is coming up next at each stage and so everyone was waiting for the, the piece de resistance I’ve Had the Time of My Life, and the epic lift at the end between Jonny and Baby. It didn’t disappoint and was a perfect ending to a great feel good show.
This show is a must see if you love the film Dirty Dancing, it will have the humming the tunes from the film and reliving the jokes for days afterwards. Highly recommended.
Rating: 5/5 
A Night of Dirty Dancing is currently on tour around the UK, for more information and tour dates visit www.easytheatres.com.
For other shows at the Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells visit www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk.
Assembly Hall Theatre, Crescent Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2LU | 01892 530613
