Dirty Dancing At Regent Theatre, Stoke-On-Trent Review

Reviewed by Liz

Dirty Dancing is a long running classic cinematic wonder, originally filmed, and released in 1987 Dirty Dancing fast became a cult classic, loved and adored by many young and…well… older generations.

Despite its age Dirty Dancing will always be a firm favourite for many men and women all over the globe. To deprive the world of this being transformed into a west end show, would have been a travesty. Having first appeared on the West End stage in 2006, Dirty Dancing the musical fast became as popular if not more so than its motion picture counterpart, and it is back with a brand-new tour of the UK and Ireland.

My family and I had the honour and pleasure of being invited to the beautifully picturesque venue of the Regent Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent; to watch what can only be described as a visual and auditory masterpiece.

For those who have been living under a rock for the last 34 years, Dirty Dancing is the story of a young woman named Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman (Kira Malou) who is from an incredibly privileged background, who falls in love with an entertainer called Johnny Castle (Michael O’Reilly) at her holiday resort. The pair find themselves in a conundrum and Johnny is forced to make a decision that affects more than just himself. This story is filled with humility, pain, sadness, silliness, overwhelming amounts of love, every dance move you could ever think of and some cracking one liners like the world renowned “I carried a watermelon!”

This incredible piece of art was brought to life by a ludicrously talented cast and crew including Georgia Aspinall (Penny Johnson), Jack Loy (Dr Jake Houseman), Callum Fitzgerald (the dastardly fiend – Robbie) and an entire crew of remarkable people who make up the ensemble and ‘Kellerman’s Band’. The saxophone player has a stunning vocal talent as well as his ability to play the recorder and make it look super sexy! In fact, the talent that oozes from this cast and this production left me speechless. I thought this was going to be the easiest review I was going to write to date, but it was such a sensational performance that there doesn’t appear to be enough positive vocabulary in the English language to celebrate this productions success.

The set and costumes were stunning with a wide variety of visual effects and the live swing band made all those time-honoured songs we all know and love such as ‘Hungry Eyes’, ‘Do You Love Me’ and the heart stopping ‘(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life’ sounds so much more alluring and marvellous. It really was an experience I will never forget. There are two moments of strobe lighting that need to be considered for people with photosensitive epilepsy, they are 2 short flashes of very bright white light to mimic lightning from a storm.

The theatre itself was well maintained and the décor was magnificent. The stage and seats have a lovely layout. The toilets are clean and there are plenty to ensure the cues are not too long during intervals. On this occasion my family and I did not take advantage of the fabulous seat ordering service provided via QR code on the back of the chairs. Ice-cream (vegan options available) and a 500ml of Pepsi Max cost £8.20 which is a little steep for my liking; however for an occasional treat it can be forgiven. Especially when considering the wonderfully, helpful, and charming staff that are always on hand at the theatre to help you.

There is a large pay and display car park called Brakes Car Park which is CASH ONLY, this appears to be the most popular and the closest as is just a short 3-5 minute walk from the theatre. There are other car parks including John Street, Hinde Street and Clough Street. There is disabled parking near the theatre stage door in the Pall Mall Car Park and some disabled spaces in the on street parking areas.

Dirty Dancing is on a UK and Ireland tour now, It honestly, and truly is a MUST SEE production, it is quite simply just stupendous!

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £13.00 plus booking fee of up to £3.80

And are available form https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/dirty-dancing/regent-theatre/ or by calling 020 7206 1174

Dirty Dancing is on from 4th July to 8th July at
The Regent Theatre
Piccadilly
Hanley
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1 1AP