A Chorus Line

Well, what can I say other than I had an absolutely fantastic time seeing A Chorus Line. I had some theatre tokens to spend and they were well spent. Not only did I get an upgrade on my seat in the gods to the stalls but the show itself was just brilliant.
A Chorus Line first appeared on stage in 1976 and is an amazing insight into the world of the audition. There was also a movie with Michael Douglas in the role of the director. The premise is that the Director is casting a new show. He needs 4 guys and 4 girls and whittles down the initial group to 16 potentials who, through their dancing and their talk about themselves, who they are, stories about their lives, make up a show that makes you laugh, touches your heart at times, awes you with fantastic dance routines and if you know the songs, especially ‘One’, possibly the most famous song in the show, and ‘What I did For Love’, you will sing along (quietly) and want to learn the routines for yourself.
A few of the main characters stand out. The director is played by Eastenders star John Partridge, who really has very little to do except dance a bit and every chance he appears on the stage he seems to be in a constant state of tight arse syndrome and by this I mean he stands with his arse facing the audience and it is constantly clenched! Hilarious!
Scarlett Strallen plays Cassie, the dance star who has fallen into bad times and just wants a job, despite the fact that is ‘too good for the chorus’. Halfway through the show she performs an extremely emotive routine which shows her skills off amazingly and when I saw her do it she really out her all in. It was phenomenal. Other stand out performances were Victoria Hamilton-​Barrett who plays Diana. She clearly has the most singing to do with her big number ‘Nothing’ shining brightly and she really does do it well. I found that a lot of the cast were not fantastic singers but it is essentially a dance show and they were by no means poor singers, just great dancers!
The stage is essentially a black box, with a dance mirror at the back and mirrors brought in for Scarlett’s routine. I have heard people say that they should have used the space better but to be honest I don’t think the show needs it. The show is not supposed to be all glitz and glamour (until the final routine) and the black box really fits the mood of the piece. It runs for 2 hours with no interval and the time is easily spent and enjoyed, and I really really enjoyed my visit to A Chorus Line and I hope you will too!
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