SUPAS Drama have taken on the musical adaptation of the 1980’s classic ‘Footloose’, a tale of young romance, extremely restrictive Christian-conservatism in small town America and dancing. The young company gave a great effort, resulting in an entertaining night of theatre that had only a slight few blemishes that could perhaps be fairly considered as opening night teething issues.
Rory Violet’s direction was particularly strong. She helped foster strong relationship dynamics between the actors on stage, and their understanding of emotional narratives was there to see. Transitionally it was also impressive at times with a slick fluidity, although on occasion there were periods of dead space on stage when there weren’t any actors or music to help usher in a new scene. Charley Moffat and her team of stage managers were well organised and clever for most of the show, embellishing scenes with helmet-wearing, scooter-riding waiters and simple ceiling-hung icons to help establish locations, whilst still being reliant on heavy pieces of set nicely put together by Neha Jakkampudi and her team of set constructors. The decision to show the band too for a musical that seemed locationally difficult to manage was wise and worked to the advantage of the production.
There was also a great textual knowledge shown from the director, which was shared among many of the cast, leading to some fine moments, such as the excellent performance of ‘Learning To Be Silent’ by Lucy Ellinor, Em Newbitt and Ellie Potter. These three actresses in particularly were excellent in this production, providing really apt emotional anchors particularly in Newbitt and Potter who play the show’s maternal figures orbiting traditional, patriarchal power in Reverend Moore’s community within Bomont. Ariel Moore played by Ellinor was really well painted, with a focused and delightfully rebellious yet vulnerable portrayal of the teenager. On Ariel Moore’s antagonistic father, he was adeptly played by Jude Yellop, reflecting the required poise of the permeating public-life preacher with appropriate stubbornness and dismissiveness. On the lighter side of the production, Izzy Woolcott’s Rusty and Euan Jones Willard were excellent comic relief portrayed with a playful innocence. The lead Ren McCormack, played by James Laikin, had great energy and athleticism, and Laikin gave a good performance that handled demanding choreography remarkably well. The cynicism of Ren was captured quite well, as was their determination and wilful confidence to fight.
The rest of the cast when participating in choreography showed moments of real commitment and conviction, but there was an inconsistency on this front. Footloose: The Musical is heavy on dance and movement, with many numbers requiring full ensemble sequences that made Zara Walton and Stan Smith’s roles as choreographers particularly challenging. The choreography was really bright, attractive and communicative of the rebellious spirit of youth this text extrapolates, which is Walton and Smith’s credit. I think too it was clever to not ask excessively of its cast, despite its challenging scope, but the executions provided mixed results. Some of the numbers seemed particularly well-rehearsed and slick, with the stage swimming with bodies popping, snapping, bouncing and shaking with great enthusiasm and precision. Others felt a bit lackadaisical and disjointed, falling out of time or seemingly tired limbs extending halfway, possibly due to lack of confidence or clarity on the scenes dancey demands. Fortunately, the cast were supported really well by musical director Coby Brown and band, who had a nicely balanced sound that was met with Jack Mead and teams’ mostly solid sound engineering. It was the case that some moments felt rather quiet and, with the combination of demanding choreography, allowed some slightly flat moments to bleed through where the focus drifted from the music and the dancing toward the sounds of shuffling feet on stage floor and the visual awkward stage smiles which was a little exposing for the young cast trying their best. This was fortunately a rare occurrence, with specific commendation deserved for the handling of complex multi-vocal numbers with combinations of belts and falsettos, baritones and tenors which made for great listening.
Although there was a small collection of slightly messy moments within this piece, they were fortunately outweighed by more positive qualities. Phoebe Hill and Marie Sophia Denk’s costume, hair and makeup was particularly strong. There was an eclectic collection of outfits to mark up and some ambitiously speedy endeavours such as rapid costume changes or Ren’s black eye that was put together at pace and effectively. On the whole, it was a very decent piece of work that I anticipate will grow even stronger and even more slick as the show continues to take to the stage over this weekend. There was a rapturous reception by the sell-out crowd tonight, so it’s worth consideration if you’re looking for some musical entertainment in the city this May. Tickets including matinee and evening performances can be found here: https://www.ticketsource.com/supas
Reviewer: Nathan Dunn
Reviewed: 30th April 2026
North West End UK Rating: