Another fantastic visit to The Palace Theatre…. to see Michael Flatley’s Lord of The Dance… Smooth and easy entry to the Theatre, greeted by smiles and polite members of the FOH (Front of House) staff. The bar and ushers both very polite, well-mannered and eager to please in assisting you to have the best experience you could for the night. Sarah Bleasdale is the General Manager over the Opera House and The Palace Theatres and is doing a fantastic job. This shows within the staff and the very clean and maintained Theatre…. Keep up the good work guys!!
Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games is the main title, a fascinating story of Good versus Evil…. Dramatically captured with the extraordinary and outstanding choreography given to it by none other than the very brilliant and talented Mr Michael Flatley. Michael, unfortunately, no longer performs in these shows, however, he still continues as the show’s creator, producer and choreographer. His talent and love for these shows is overwhelming and you can see it glow in this performance along with special effects! Michael’s last performance on stage was back in 2016, where he last performed at Caesars Colosseum in Las Vegas, NV. Since then he works endlessly to ensure his vision and dreams live on in these fantast live shows across the world. I was fortunate enough to have see Michael perform many years ago and he was just fantastic. Last night was just as good….
In this performance, ‘The Lord’ of The Dance lead, was taken by Matthew Smith, Matthew is from London and he joined Michael Flatley’s Troupe 2 at the age of 18yrs, he then achieved his ambition within the year of performing the lead role of ‘The Lord’! Last night, Matthew showed off his talent in this astounding show along with the rest of his Troupe by giving us a performance of extreme high energy, fast feet, impressive and gave us an overall experience that left you feeling high in emotions.
The energy that came off the stage was amazing. The scenery and lighting on and around the stage for the whole show fit perfectly with every step the dancers took. The timing was impeccable by all and done in the highest of standards. The dancers were fit, energetic and also pleasing to the eye (if I’m actually allowed to say that)!! I have to give a special mention to the ladies that played the violins, as well as the lady who sang, they were truly amazing and the singing just captivated the audience. This show is a must see and is aimed at all ages.
The show states ‘25yrs of Standing Ovations’… Well I can tell you, that there are still more of these standing ovations to come, especially if last nights’ audience was anything to go by. The whole Theatre was on their feet and clapping with the beats of the ‘celtic’ tunes being played (Gerard Fahy is the Composer we need to thank for the music in the shows). From the very minute you sat down, you couldn’t help being drawn to the stage…. Everyone got involved… great audience participation throughout. This show is not only uplifting, moving, outstanding, it’s pure brilliant and the performers are outstanding and glowing with talent. This is a must see production. But hurry…. Manchester is the end of the Tour!!
I’ll leave you with Michael Flatley’s very own motto…
“nothing is impossible… follow your dreams”.
Lord of the Dance is running at the Palace Theatre from now till Saturday 17th July 2022
Tickets can be booked – HERE
Review by: Nicky Butler