Dancing in the Streets – Theatre Royal, Brighton

Director: Keith Strachan

Lyrics and Music: Motown, 1960s/70s

Reviewer: Ann Bawtree

The Public Reviews Rating:

The Brighton audience for “Dancing in the Streets” was 95% composed of dedicated fans of Motown for whom this is a production not to be missed. As glamorous and enlivening as the originals, the show does for Motown what “Mama Mia” has done for Abba. All the well loved numbers come along in quick succession, too fast to keep count. They present the history of this form of popular music. As John Good writes in his programme notes Motown “began as a result of one black man’s frustration at not being able to make music in a white man’s world, and grew into a testament to black musicianship”. That one was Berry Gordy Jr.

The action takes place in Detroit of course, whose back streets are subtly suggested by a set of crowded buildings which have seen better days. Designed by Sean Cavanagh it provides a strong contrast for the glitz of the performers.

The eleven members of the company flit on and off stage, returning each time in yet more gorgeous costumes designed by Tony Priestly. From the first pink mini-dresses worn with white stilettos to the elegant white satin, fur and diamanté of the Supremes, they added to the developing story of the movement. The boys were not to be outdone by the girls either in their ever sharper suits. How cheering this had been to the generation still emerging from post war depression and what a pleasant change from today’s “I did it with the egg whisk” hair styles and the dresses of Strictly’s girls which leave nothing to the imagination.

The gyratory dancing may have raised a few eyebrows at the time but even the thigh high slits of the skirts and all that hip wiggling and hair tossing were not enough to dent the overall decorum, almost gentility of the performance. One man even asked the ladies of the audience for permission to remove his jacket. Wigs Mistress Romaine Bowman must have some secret fixative recipe.

The choreography of Carole Todd is as slick and eye-catching as the comparatively small space allows. There was lots of hand jiving, which is not as easy as it looks as demonstrated by the audience participation towards the end of the show.

Lighting and sound play an especially important part in a show like this and there is plenty of both. The diction of the singers was very clear although the MC was sometimes a little muffled and his accent difficult, which was a pity as some of his wise cracks were missed. The excellent band of eight on-stage musicians were kept well balanced by the sound designer Ben Harrison; the lighting of Ben Cracknell almost featured as an extra performer with spots, stars and all sorts of geometric shapes dancing their way around the feet of the performers. However

Some in the audience may have been less keen on the beams from the stage searing across them like searchlights at a prisoner of war camp though. Not perhaps a show for those who cannot deal with flashing lights but certainly a show for those who loved the original Motown sound. They will not be disappointed.