Amazing display of talent

FOOTLOOSE, George Lawton Hall, Mossley

ONE of the big attractions of this film was its Eighties pop soundtrack.

It was lucky it had a good one, because the story — about an urban teenager moving to a rural town which has banned dancing — is a bit silly, even by Hollywood standards.

The stage musical version discarded some of the pop numbers and replaced them with some fairly nondescript, specially-written songs, which help the story with their more pointed lyrics, but make the show even weaker.

Thankfully, two of the best-known numbers — iconic Eighties pop, no less — remain: Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero”, and Deneice Williams’s “Let’s Hear it for the Boy”, are superbly handled.

But once again with Mossley AODS’s large young company, it hardly matters. The performers — mostly in their mid-to-late teens, not forgetting older group members who play the adult characters — come through with an amazing display of talent and electricity.

They sing, mostly, with great skill and where the voices aren’t brilliant, the delivery usually is. They dance, too, with raw energy — thankfully aided by Gary Jones’ up-to-the-minute choreography and a cracking small band led by Mike Bramhall.

Director Martyn Preston keeps the pace fast and furious — though on opening night there seemed to be a few minor delays between some scenes. With most shows this would have gone relatively unnoticed, but in this otherwise slick, fast-moving evening, they seemed loooong . . .

As usual, the leads were exemplary, with Nick Ward a strong singer and dancer, very confident as the incoming teen; and Beth Linsdell as the preacher’s rebellious daughter, his equal and similarly enjoyable to watch.

Their supporting pair, Tom Varey and Dawn Leigh, gave them a run for their money, the former with his comic presence and the latter with a superb pop voice.

Speaking of powerful voices, the main baddie — the local preacher — was given a sympathetic performance by Jon Crebbin, whose singing voice is one of the best in the area. Sarah Thewlis as his wife also made a strong showing in tough company.

But this isn’t a show about leading performances, no matter how good. The Mossley ensemble is a thing of energy and a joy possibly forever. Take a nap before you go: they could make you tired just watching them.