Lord of the Dance Production Photos

I am a massive fan of Eurovision, watching the competition every year since 1967. Like many people I remember watching the “interval entertainment” in 1994, and being absolutely stunned by the piece “Riverdance” which included the soloists Jean Butler and Michael Flatley.

Following the success of Riverdance as a production, Michael Flatley went on to create the masterpiece that is Lord of the Dance, which bought Irish dancing to the world stage. Add to this my husband’s Irish heritage, a niece who was a national Irish junior dance champion, and you would rightly conclude that our household are fans of Irish music and dance. You can imagine our delight at being invited to the press night of the 25th Anniversary of Lord at the Dance at our favourite local theatre the Alexandra, Birmingham. The production sees Michael Flatley revive and update the original Lord of the Dance for a new generations of fans.

The show, described by the Los Angeles Times as a “showpiece extravaganza”, features “more than 150,000 taps per performance as it transports the audience to a mythical time and place, capturing hearts in a swirl of movement, precision dancing, artistic lighting, and pyrotechnics.” The plot of this production is a classic tale of good versus evil. The Little Spirit (Cassidy Ludwig) is our narrator who uses a mixture of dance and mime to introduce us to the various characters. Her whistle playing is beautiful and haunting as she guides us through the story of her dreams. The Little Spirit dreams of the Lord who represents all that is good but must fight evil in the form of The Dark Lord and his followers, as the temptress Morrighann tries to part the Lord from his true love Saoirse.

The Lord of the Dance (Cathal Keaney) delivered a performance that was passionate and energetic and the battle scenes between the Lord and the Dark Lord (the excellent Alasdair Spencer) were gripping and powerful. Musical respite from the powerful dance scenes is provided by goddess Erin (Celyn Cartwright’s vocals are just perfection) and two exceptionally talented violinists Aisling Sage and Megan McGinley.

Stunning costumes, projected backdrops, atmospheric lighting, and Gerard Fahy’s soundtrack combine perfectly to create a breathtaking piece of theatre. This production cleverly opens and closes with videos of Michael Flatley telling the story of his Irish dance journey. Lord of the Dance: 25 years of standing ovations certainly lived up to the expectation. This extremely talented cast proves this piece is timeless and still appeals to audiences today as it did in 1996. As for the Birmingham audience, well I think the standing ovation from everyone in the sell-out theatre says it all.

The Lord of the Dance is at the Alexandra Theatre from the 16th to 19th of June when it continues on its national tour of the UK.

MT

Theatretastic 4/5:

We say: “A timeless breathtaking piece of theatre.”