Boogie Nights (Tour – Darlington)

Boogie Nights is a concert of 70’s music played out against the back drop of the club of the same name. There is a love story in there, but most of it is narrated from the various points of view of the cast and what they lacked in acting they more than made up for with enthusiasm and lots of singing and dancing.

Shane Ritchie Jnr totally owns the stage when he is on it and his talent shines through. Whilst the others are talented the majority of the main male parts are played by people who have appeared on reality talent shows. Shane learnt his craft the hard way through holiday camps and clubs and he is very much an entertainer appearing in the role of Roddy, originally played by his dad Shane Ritchie. Chico, Gareth Gates and Andy Abrahams show why they were on the X-Factor and Pop Idol with outstanding vocals that really get the crowd up on their feet and dancing in the aisles. For the girls the outstanding vocals come from Roni Hart who plays Lorraine and Nicola Meehan who plays Trish. They are the standout singers in the show and when Louisa Lytton sings a rather weak version of I Will Survive luckily they are there to give the song the lift it needs.

Unfortunately for Darlington The Osmonds did not appear. This seemed to cause some upset amongst ladies of a certain age, who had gone along deliberately to see their teen idols. However the party atmosphere and the allowance of alcoholic drinks in the auditorium seemed to help them get over their disappointment.

Boogie Nights is a cheesily good night out. Full of all the classic songs of the 70’s and lots of clapping and singing and audience interaction, by a cast who genuinely seem to be enjoying themselves up on the stage. Get down to Darlington Civic before Saturday for a fabulous night out.