Thriller Live blends amazing dancers, unstoppable singer and impressive multimedia to make an incredible performance that’s coming to a theatre near you! The show consist of the best and brightest of Michael Jackson's catalogue, with hits like Thriller, Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, The Way You Make Me Feel and Black or White - this combined with a spectacular display of energetic and sharp dancing and a live band makes a great night out.
The show starts with a medley of the unforgettable songs of Jackson and takes us from the early motown years of his career with a blasting rendition of ‘Who’s Loving You’. Cleo Higgins who performs as one of the singers in the show - blew the audience away if the first 5 minutes with this song, and has them in the palm of her hand until the shows finale. Her vocal talent was outstanding and she seemed to be ecstatic to be starting the 2016 tour in her hometown of Manchester. All other singers were introduced through the night - Rory Taylor sang ‘She’s Out of My Life’ with all the soul and emotion of Jackson himself, his range seemed impossible throughout the night of the show, jumping from ballad to rock to song with ease. Shaquille Hemmans sang an amazing introduction to ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’ which when combined with another 2 voices - displayed a fantastic use of harmonies. Hemmans also showed great vocal ability and had an amazing sense of stage presence and showmanship. Michael Kavuma sang throughout the show and made a great addition to the other voices, with him being used in the lower harmonies and also showed his dancing skills at the beginning of the show. But the star of the show has to and always be Sean Christopher - after playing a successful Jackson in Thriller Live for over 3 years he is still rocking audiences all over the world. He was an incredible dancer and surely has the charisma and unforgettable dance moves of Jackson, making the audience go wild from the moment he stepped on stage - especially when displaying the classic and iconic moonwalk.
The dancers were some the best in the world, they seemed to be loving the whole show and always looked right in the moment and emotion of the songs - especially in ‘The Don’t Really Care About Us’ - special mention must be made to Courtney George and Chad Wilder who just seemed to be one step ahead of the rest with the dancing skills that will surely take them far. The lights and set are to be marvelled at designed by Nigel Catmur and Jonathan Park who put an extra dash of sparkle into the show. Costumes by Shooting Flowers enhanced every look and every emotion to its full potential.
The show was unforgettable and had the audience on their feet until the very end. Not a fault in the whole show - it surely is the best display of Jackson’s Life and Times and was a true celebration of his career. It will leave you speechless and astounded, and you’ll leave the theatre walking on air - a true marvel.
Thriller Live Tour runs until Saturday 23rd January before going on a UK wide tour. You can find out all information on the website http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/thriller-live-2/
Reviewer: Brad Wilson
Reviewed: 18th January 2016
