Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games at Sheffield City Hall Review
Lord of the Dance:
Dangerous Games
City Hall, Sheffield
15-17 June 2015
Reviewed by Gemma Brunt
I am an avid fan of all things dance related so I have seen The Lord of the Dance several times, both live and on TV. Having said that I thought I knew what to expect from this show based on previous experience – great dancing, music, etc… in general a good show. I was wrong, I didn’t see a good show, I saw an absolutely jaw dropping performance by possibly some of the most talented dancers I have ever seen!
For those who aren’t in the know I’ll give you a little background on the story. The Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games story is based upon the dream of a little spirit – played by Jess Judge and is a classic good vs evil tale, the Lord of the Dance representing all that is good and the Dark Lord representing all that is evil. Will the little spirits dream stay so or become a nightmare?… My lips are sealed, you’ll have to go see it yourself.
The entire show has been revamped from dance arrangement to costumes (I’d rather like to raid the costume department as there were some stunning pieces). The stamina and enthusiasm of the dancers was incredible (though I expected no less) such skill and talent, it was a joy to watch. As I just mentioned the show has been revamped and now has a very modern flair, with a touch of tradition sprinkled here and there, but however modern I was not in a million years expecting dancing robots!, yes you read that right dancing robots. The backdrop wasn’t your standard static set piece, it was in fact a large cinema style screen so the backdrop was forever changing with the mood of the performance, the cinematics were fabulous, really drawing you in to their realm.
Michael Flatley himself did not perform but anyone thinking that the show will be lacking without him up front as the “Lord” is sorely mistaken as his successor is every bit the showman he is. I will make apologies now for if I have names wrong as it is very difficult to pinpoint who is who and match them to a programme when they do not stand still for more than 5 seconds but in tonight’s show the Lord of the dance was played by Cathan Keany (also played by Morgan Comer) the Dark Lord by Zoltan Papp, (also Tom Cunningham) the Lords beloved Saoirse by Nikita Cassidy (other dancers who play her are Niamh Taylor and Olivia Griffin) and the Seductress Morrighan by Lara Milner (also Andrea Kren and Brea McGaffey). Each of these dancers portrays their characters so wonderfully, you cheer for the lord, boo for the Dark Lord (yes there was actual booing) and wish you could grow up to be like Saoirse or at least dance like her. I totally fell in love with the little spirit, I wanted to get up and protect her from the bad guys cheer when she was happy, such a lovely little character. Each and every person performing on the stage tonight should be incredibly proud of the performance they gave.
Alongside the dancing you had musical interludes, with her beautiful voice – Erin the Goddess played by Rachael O’Conner and the fiddlers Giada Costenaro Cunnigham and Eimear Reilly. The musical score was composed, arranged and produced by Gerard Fahy who so wonderfully combined traditional Irish music with an eclectic mix of sounds and style.
The only negative thing I can say about this show is that is that it was over too soon, I could have sat for a few hours more, the show has it all, explosions, unicorns and dancing robots, what more could you ask for.
I viewed the show at the Sheffield City Hall, and it was the perfect venue for this performance, great views of the stage, plenty of bathroom facilities which were lovely and clean and the seats are very comfortable… plenty of leg space too (not that I usually suffer). The staff were lovely answering any query I had or directing me to the correct person to do so.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £37.50 (booking fees may apply).
Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games is at the Sheffield City Hall until 17 June 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0114 2 789 789.
Sheffield City Hall, Barkers Pool, Sheffield, S1 2JA | 0114 2 789 789
