An undoubtedly popular show riding the wave of 80s nostalgia, Flashdance has arrived on stage. You’ll know the original film by reputation if you haven’t actually seen it. This touring production is the return of vaunted 2008 stage adaptation, now with award-winning dancer and Strictly Come Dancing staple Joanne Clifton in the lead role.

80s music. Spunky girl trying to rise out of manual labour. Sheltered rich boy who falls for her. Lots of midriffs. Lots of thighs. Lots of Reagan economic exploitation. Lots of gyrating. These are the pillars on which Flashdance is based. It is by design simple emotive crowd-pleasing fare. Now, I have an at best middling tolerance for the 80s revival craze but I shouldn’t project my own (in)tolerance for this material on an audience that is clearly happy to lap it up. If like me, you can only stomach so much, this is rather a large dose.

I cannot have a crack at the talent on display. Flashdance The Musical has a lot of very elaborate routines performed by capable performers. Clifton is leading the way here and boasts a powerful set of vocal cords too. She is well-supported by Colin Kiyani as the besotted Nick, though in truth I saw no weak points in the cast at large either. As a song and dance spectacle, it is unquestionably impressive.

The main difficulty of the production is scale. The performers must manage with some fairly difficult set transitions due to the bulk of the mobile set to rearrange. The immediate assumption is that these structures are designed for a less shallow stage. This is ultimately dealt with, but there is a jarring disconnect with the lithe polish of the performers and them having to push around these lumbering behemoths.

It’s a perfectly entertaining outing for those looking for a heavy helping of 80s soundtracks and shameless camp.    ★★★☆☆   Fenton Coulthurst     30^th January 2018