Fame is pretty damn ubiquitous. It started as a film, before becoming a TV series that itself had a spin-off, a stage musical, and rounded out by a cinematic remake. Selladoor Productions brings the stage version back to the UK with all the leg-warmers and poppy 80s vitality you would expect from the fictionalised attendees of the High School of the Performing Arts.

Out of the gate, if all you want from Fame is a solid hit of that familiar brand with a cast of talented singers, dancers and musicians, this will deliver. Between the variety of dances and musical numbers, you are well-catered for. It seems almost cruel to highlight individuals in the on-stage talent given the universally high standard, but special kudos have to go to Mica Paris as Miss Sherman who has the most searing of the musical numbers, and Jamal Crawford as Tyrone for some intensely athletic dance work.

However, if you wanted a substantive dramatic experience from Fame, you are likely going to be disappointed.

The biggest issue for Fame is the structure of its storytelling. Its an ensemble approach where the plot jumps around between the micro-narratives of the students, which is itself not inherently problematic. Fundamentally though, few of the scenes actually address the change or growth of the characters. Major events happen off-stage and we rejoin the characters later in their school year where we find them in an unestablished change of circumstance.

In isolated instances, this can work. The audience can piece together events after the fact and revelation serves as dramatic development. But if this happens in every case, it belies a poor understanding of narrative consequence and the outcomes of plots seem arbitrary. This student is struggling with academic subjects, until they aren’t; another two don’t know they like each other, until they do; this one is headed for a bright future, until she is dropping out. There’s little weight to the drama because there’s no logical set-up and pay-off to why things occur.

A lot of the ‘issue’ narratives are of a very shallow after-school-special variety (to borrow an American phrase) too. Of course, we don’t go to Fame for a density or depth of deeply sociologically-realised human drama: it’s an all-singing all-dancing high school romp that touches on some issues. However the presence of some of these issues does highlight just how shallow Fame is.

Fame should be met on its own terms. It’s a campy 80s revival of a famous musical brand. It speaks to a popular form of nostalgia and delivers that with vigour and undoubtedly talented singing and dance skills. Set your expectations as such and you won’t be disappointed.  ★★★☆☆   Fenton Coulthurst   22^nd January 2019