Over four decades on from the smash hit cult movie, Saturday Night Fever struts into the King’s Theatre this week complete with disco dancing, relationship woes, fractious friendships, sharp suits and a wide repertoire of classic hits to transport you straight back to the 70s
Richard Winsor steals the show in the role of Tony Manero – the character most famously played by John Travolta in the moview. He is a guy with plenty of ego, charisma and of course, those disco moves. The story follows Tony and his friends. Tony is a young guy who is tired of his monotonous job in a hardware store and spends his working week counting down the hours until he can hit Brooklyn’s Club 2001 and dominate the dance floor. This is where he feels alive. It’s a common cultural trope successfully deployed in the movie and replicated here, along with elements of the original dialogue and characters.
The show is jam-packed with exceptional slick and high energy choreography set to the instantly recognisable music of the Bee Gees. The cleverly built set includes disco balls, multi-coloured dancefloors and mirrors to help transform the setting and deliver the story.
Winsor has an energetic central presence within the production and the story, interacting with the rest of the cast between set changes. His chemistry with Kate Parr, in the role of Stephanie, helps hold the narrative together.
For the uninitiated, the songs from the show include 70s classics such as More than a Woman, Night Fever, Staying Alive, Disco Inferno and You Should Be Dancin’.
The high energy disco tracks, hip rolling and coordinated dance routines contrast starkly at times with the gritty subject matter as Tony’s life, and that of his friends, takes some bleak turns. In that way, the musical stays true to the spirit of the movie without trying too hard to sugarcoat the story for the stage.
It draws to a close with a burst of music standards, leaving the audience ready to jive all the way home.
Saturday Night Fever is at the King’s Theatre until Saturday 20th October.
