Footloose UK Tour At Manchester Opera House Review

Reviewed by Rosemary Knight

I can’t think of a better way to spend a miserable, wet Manchester evening than watching feel good show at the theatre, so I was delighted to travel to Manchester Opera House to watch the latest production of Footloose, which has just finished a West End run and is now touring the UK.

Based on the big screen hit from the 1980s, Footloose tells the story of city boy Ren McCormack, played by talented singer and dancer, Joshua Hawkins, who is forced to relocate from Chicago to small town Bomont with his mother, Ethel after they have been abandoned by Ren’s father. He is horrified when he finds out that all forms of rock music and dancing are classed as sinful and have been banned by the town pastor, Rev. Shaw Moore, played by Darren Day. Ren falls for Moore’s daughter Ariel played by Lucy Munden and devices a plan to challenge the local council about the dancing ban. Jake Quickenden, who is most famous for appearing in the X Factor and Dancing on Ice , plays the part of Willard Hewitt. He is ideally cast in this role as Ren’s goofy non-dancing friend who learns how to dance at the end of the show. Quickenden is the absolute star of the show, stealing every scene and upstaging the rest of the cast. He can sing and dance and his comic timing is superb. The scene where he learned that he could actually dance and rips of his dungarees to reveal a pair of gold hot pants will stay in my mind for a long time! The scenes with his love interest Rusty played by Oonagh Cox provide much of the comedy in the production and his rendition of ‘Mama Says’ is definitely one of the highlights of the show.

Ren meets with the local teenagers and soon has the whole town up on their feet. The dance numbers are full of energy and the audience joined in tapping their feet in time to the music. The cast play all the instruments while they dance and sing, which is no mean feat. They roll round the stage on roller skates, jump through skipping ropes, all whilst playing musical instruments. The choreography, sets and costumes are astounding and the audience is transported back to the 1980s when everything seemed so much more innocent. There is a reference to the violence between Chuck and Ren, but even that is briefly dealt with and everything turns out good in the end. There are of course the classic 80s hit songs including title song ‘Footloose’, ‘Holding Out For A Hero’ and ‘Let’s Hear it For The Boy’ for the audience to enjoy. The show’s grand finale had the entire audience on the feet, shouting for more. I came out of the theatre with a huge smile on my face.

Footloose is everything you could wish for in a musical . It’s full of enthusiasm with great tunes and dancing and I can honestly say that this production is right at the top of my list for the best musical I have ever seen. It was amazing and I loved every minute.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £13.00 Plus £3.65 transaction fee.

The show is on from 28th February until 5th March 2022

To book tickets please visit Footloose Tickets | Opera House Manchester in Manchester | ATG Tickets or phone the box office on 0844 871 7615