JADAR

★★☆☆☆

The popularity of cabaret and burlesque have surged over the past few years, and Manchester is getting a nice dose of it with tours of the musicals Burlesque, Moulin Rouge, and smaller shows more focused more closely on the art forms. Come What May tries to explore the elegance and sophistication of Moulin Rouge but ultimately falls a little flat in reproducing that integral sexy spectacle, despite its many dance genres and costume changes. 

Advertised as the ultimate tribute to Moulin Rouge, I expected lavish costumes, grand dance numbers, perhaps even verging on circus stunts, an intricate set, and constant attention grabbing. Instead, the set felt a little basic, with a small piano plopped into the corner, the velvety curtain in the back, a “Come What May’” neon logo overhead, and a few chairs with a single top hat centre stage.

Normally, I wouldn’t mind the sparse décor, but it felt a little lacklustre for the genre it was tributing. It would have been better had it been marketed as a film musical extravaganza, or a Strictly duo show, like the recent tour by Nadiya and Kai.

Like Nadiya and Kai’s recent tour, the presenting often felt like stalling or rambling with no particular end goal in sight.

Segments were often glued together by the largely effective comic relief of David Wyatt, who had all the perfect mixture of a flirtatious and cheeky attitude, especially in his frisky ‘Like a Virgin’, sung along with James Doughty, whose piano melodies, cheeky boozy jokes, cheerful introduction to the show, and gorgeously powerful voice captivated me all show (I craved more of his performances throughout the show and could not get over how transcendent his voice was!).

There were also random jabbering from the rest of the cast, requests for the audience to scream one more time (yet again), and other stalling tactics that ground the fast-paced feel of previous dance numbers or grand songs to a jeering halt.

Perhaps the talking segments should have focused on the influences of certain musicals on pop culture or dancing, or even introducing the next dance’s style, if it was more Strictly coded. Aside from them, we also had Jazzy Phoenix, of Emmerdale fame, and Jarrad Green singing, with some spectacular harmonies, especially in ‘Lady Marmalade’ and ‘The Show Must Go On’. 

With AJ and Curtis Pritchard on board for the new tour (they did not star in the original 2019 production), there was a much-needed sense of energy and enthusiasm added to the dancing, each step having a little more vigour and that classy Strictly smile.

Despite this, not even they could blow me away, with the choreography often feeling a little bland and flat for the music they were accompanying.

I was also a little surprised that the brothers weren’t in the show more often, as some segments focused on the other dancers, some entirely on the singers.

Some moments used lifts, spins or jumps that were interesting, and I felt like I saw the same stunt again and again.

For songs from The Greatest Showman, like ‘Come Alive’ and ‘The Greatest Show’ (a movie, I admit, that I’m ridiculously protective of), it felt like the choreography just missed the punch and pizzazz of its movie counterpart, despite the singing surprisingly hitting the mark with that uplifting choral feeling.

Ultimately, I think my issue lies in the show not quite knowing what it wants to be. It has the audience participation (which sometimes was disappointingly flat), the talking and sing-along elements of a cruise ship or Butlins family show, but simultaneously feeling like a Strictly show with dance numbers like ‘The Rhythm of the Night’, a movie musical song fest, and both a parody and tribute of the Moulin Rouge tropes. 

The costumes were jazzy and glitzy, often matching the cabaret style. Men wore tuxedos, ringmaster-style suits, Georgian golden flourished coats, colourful Strictly-like glitter shirts and more, while the women wore tradition can-can dresses, with all their flourishes and vibrancy, more risqué or feathery burlesque-style dresses (although they never quite reach the spectacle of the Burlesque musical’s sexy fashion extravagance), and matching glittery dresses. However, some appeared to be a bit low quality, and one tailcoat really needed an iron…

The lighting intensified the ripples of the curtain backdrop. There were dramatic spotlights during some of the bigger numbers. During the intensifying ‘Because We Can Can Can’ dance number, it constantly ran up and down the audience every two seconds, producing am exciting effect but being so intense that my eyes were watering, and I literally started to get a headache.

Despite everything, there’s a great song selection, and you can tell that the cast and crew have paid attention to the little details, accents and momentary impressions of the artists they highlight. Whether it be the theatrical tones of Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman, the flare of Elton’s voice in ‘I’m Still Standing’, ‘Your Song’ and ‘Saturday Night’s Alright’, or the mysteriousness of ‘La Vie En Rose’.

It was strange to end the show with a sing-along mega-mix that reprised all these same numbers though, as people had the chance to sing with them previously. Rather than having a musical finale feel, it felt a little repetitive instead.

One rather touching moment was the cast showing their appreciation for the late Strictly‘s Robin Windsor, who led the previous tour.

While I had my qualms, it’s safe to say that many of the audience members did seem to enjoy the show. Perhaps it’s that it’s hard to separate the show critically from Strictly, other shows starring Strictly dancers, and its musical counterparts – or maybe it’s the foregoing of theatre etiquette with phones and singing allowed throughout. Perhaps it’s the indecisive structures and theming that put me off… who’s to say?

It was a pretty good show, with a phenomenal cast and an astounding choice of music, but it missed that element of sophistication, surprise and spectacle that I was dying to see in something based so deeply on Moulin Rouge, even in a sing/dance-along show.

Come What May tours the UK until October 24.