The Stage

Come Dancing

Published Friday 26 September 2008 at 11:45 by Lee Wilkinson

As the front three rows of stalls have been removed for patrons to be seated around tables, with a similar arrangement on both sides of the stage, cast members are able to connect with their audience on arrival and during the interval.

Inspired by real-life events and the childhood memories of former Kinks’ frontman Ray Davies, the setting for this musical play is in the mid-fifties at the now recently demolished Ilford Palais. So we have a live band, crystal chandeliers and even a working bar in evidence.

A relaxed, nattily dressed Davies acts as narrator, introducing characters representing his parents, teenage sisters and their boyfriends on a typical Saturday night out at the local dance hall.

Alasdair Harvey is a hoot as Frankie, the middle-aged ballroom boss and crooner trapped in his own world trying to resist change and the impending rise of rock’n’roll.

Sweet-voiced Gemma Slater plays tentative, polio-suffering teenager Julie who falls for West Indian immigrant saxophonist Hamilton (Delroy Atkinson) much to the chagrin of her parents, and especially would-be mentor Frankie.

All the songs are Davies compositions - a couple of Kinks classics plus several new ones - which are performed admirably by various cast members. Wendy Mae Brown excels in the vocal department with her booming, sassy delivery, while the band’s playing is exemplary throughout.

Period dress and thoughtful choreography makes this production very much a team effort, providing an entertaining evening of nostalgia exposing certain parallels with youth culture today.