The Stage

Thriller - Live

Published Friday 12 February 2010 at 13:45 by Catherine Usher

Celebrating its first West End birthday, Thriller - Live has an infectious party atmosphere right from the off. More an ode to the talent of Michael Jackson than a factual story about the star, it concentrates on the vibrancy and spectacle of his most popular songs.

Ricko Baird in Thriller Live at the Lyric, Shaftesbury Avenue Photo: Tristram Kenton

The emphasis is also firmly placed on Jackson’s broad-reaching popularity. The microphone isn’t reserved for Jackson lookalikes only - plenty of singers, including a woman and a white man, also get a chance to put their own slant on his tunes.

Maria Lawson delivers an upbeat performance and is a warm and smiley character, but there is also a reserved quality to her. Ben E Forster on the other hand is a classic X Factor-style warbler and injects a lot of power and energy into his portrayal. Then there are also re-enactments such as Smooth Criminal and the Jackson Five era, when both the sound and iconic look are recreated.

The dancers in particular are an absolute revelation. Obviously they have great material to work with and the moonwalks, body-popping and scary, Thriller dancing are all there, but they also go off on their own creative tangents - the Dirty Diana scene is exceptionally dramatic and gives the female dancers a moment in the spotlight.

Although it’s very much an ensemble piece, if there is one star of the show, it has to be Mitchell Zhangazha, as the young Michael Jackson. He looks the part, but the most amazing element is how much he sounds like early Jacko. Seeing him sing and dance along to I Want You Back is probably as close as you can get to time travel.