On July 2nd 1996 Lord of the Dance officially debuted at The Point Theatre, Dublin. Now almost 20 years on and the show is still going strong, albeit with a little more high tech involved.
Lord of the Dance - Dangerous Games is the latest in the series of Lord of the Dance shows by the highly talented Michael Flatley. Flately's son opens this show as he enters on a huge projection to the rear of the stage as the clock ticks round. Starting at 5 to12 Michael junior tries to push time on but is unable to reach. As he takes a seat to await 12 Michael senior enters and lifts his son who pushes time round to 12 and the show begins.
First off we have Flatley's voice-over describing the 20 year journey of Lord of the Dance and how he had to make it work. We are then taken into the dreams of Little Spirit skillfully played by medal winning acrobat Jess Judge who shows remarkable flexibility.
Brilliant lighting by Paul Normandale with Lite Alternative, and Video created by JA Digital, Colin Mudd and Matt Doughty. Although at times the video slightly distracts from the dance it helps take you through the dream of Little Spirit and the battle in her dreams of good against evil.
Good is portrayed by the confident Cathal Keaney who's enthusiastic performance and playing to the audience gets people clapping along to the high speed foot tapping, he is well assisted by his Chieftains. Whilst evil is in the hands of dance captain Tom Cunningham, and his Dark Disciples.
Morrighan (Andrea Kren) tries to come between the Lord (Zolton Papp) and his true love Saoirse (Olivia Griffin) with the words that the dance conveys beautifully sung by Erin The Goddess (Rachael O'Connor - who you may recall from The Voice UK where she was the last girl standing on Team Minogue). Also helping the story along and allow for costume changes are the brilliant fiddlers - Giada Costenaro Cunningham and Eimear Reilly, who amaze with a combination of fine music whilst moving energetically across the stage.
Fabulous costumes including robots designed by Christopher Woods ensure the audience are kept amazed and thrilled throughout. These elements are all backed up with the pyrotechnics of Andy Frame and some exquisite dancing form the whole cast.
The finale sees the talents of Michael Flatley senior up on the giant video screen showing that he still has all the talent that first wowed the audience of the Eurovision Song in 1994 as the intermission act.
Definitely a show to watch and enjoy allowing yourself to be immersed in the energy and passion of the whole cast.
Reviewer: Joanne Hibbert
Reviewed: 5th May 2015
