Come Dancing is a new musical by Ray Davies, singer songwriter with the Kinks, now playing at Theatre Royal Stratford East with booking extended to November 8 2008.
Come Dancing UK Tour Announced June 30, 2009
Posted by Linda in : come dancing , add a commentRay Davies’ wonderful musical Come Dancing, which we loved so much we saw it twice at Stratford last year, has just announced a UK tour! The tour starts in January at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, Kent from from Thursday 21 January 2010 to Saturday 30 January 2010 and tickets are already on sale.
The cast is said to be substantially unchanged but there’s no sign of our favourite, Gemma Salter, on the introduction to the new, currently unfinished, Come Dancing web site. It will be a bit of a shame if she isn’t going to play the lead as she really made that part her own.
Meanwhile here’s the lovely Gemma Salter and the rest of the cast doing their thing at Statford East Theatre Royal last year:
Hopefully the UK tour will lead to a transfer to the West End, where Come Dancing surely belongs.
Come Dancing Video Clips October 28, 2008
Posted by Linda in : Musicals, come dancing , 2commentsFor all those Ray Davies fans overseas or anybody who couldn’t get to Stratford Theatre Royal to see Come Dancing here are some official video cips from the show which may give a brief flavour of what makes this musical so charming.
Songs include “Come Dancing” “My Big Sister” “Saturday Night” “The Palais” “If you Love her” but for some inexplicable reason my favourite “New Town Stevenage” isn’t. ( See Come Dancing Reviews )
Come Dancing has extended until November 8th so there may be some on stage table seats left.
Come Dancing Offer Oct 7-9th 2008 October 6, 2008
Posted by Andy in : come dancing, offers , 2comments2 for 1 Come Dancing Offer
This is a special offer which readers of London Theatre Blog will be able to take advantage of if you are quick.
For three days only starting tomorrow, the offer is 2 tickets for the price of 1 to see performances of Come Dancing by Ray Davies at Theatre Royal Stratford East on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week (7th, 8th and 9th Oct respectively). All shows start at 7.30pm.
If you’d like to know how to get 2 for 1 tickets just leave a comment on this post using a valid email address, or email theatre.breaks@googlemail.com and the details will be forwarded to you.
Similarly if you’d like to be notified of any similar offers related to london theatre breaks in the future.
Come Dancing is a short run production which comes highly recommended so don’t miss it while you can still go:
Come Dancing, Reviews and Previews September 21, 2008
Posted by Linda in : Musicals, come dancing, reviews , 21commentsCome Dancing is a new musical by Ray Davies of the Kinks.
Come Dancing reviews
We really enjoyed our evening at Come Dancing, the new Ray Davies musical, at the Theatre Royal Stratford East on Friday. I thought the show was perfect for the theatre and for the Stratford audience. I can’t really give a fair Come Dancing review, as it was still in preview, so these are just my impressions.
The Come Dancing Set
The first thing I noticed on going into the theatre was that a few rows of seats had been replaced by tables and chairs and some people were seated at tables on the stage. There was also a bar on stage which the audience were encouraged to use during the interval.
The set is designed to give the illusion that most of the time we were actually in the Ilford Palais dance hall in the mid ’50s. Lighting changes were skillfully used to convey set changes.
I’m usually wary of this kind of thing in traditional theatres but I think it worked very well. We were in the first row of theatre seats (row D) and had a good view of the production. The tables looked like great fun and I’d be sorely tempted if I went again!
The Cast of Come Dancing
Ray Davies
Ray looked quite nervous at first, in his role as narrator but he soon settled into it. I thought he was in good voice and gave an excellent and at times very touching performance.
Gemma Salter was fantastic as Ray’s youngest sister Julie. She has a great voice and a strong stage presence. This is her first major role and I am sure it is just a glimpse of things to come. She looked frail and delicate, as the role required, but she gave the part just the edge of steel it needed. (I couldn’t help but think what a wonderful Nancy she might have made!)
I thought Alasdair Harvey’s portrayal of the fading band leader Frankie was superb but it’s not really fair to single people out as the rest of the cast were terrific too.
The Story of Come Dancing
I’m not going to spoil it by saying anything much about the plot. It is a really genuine, touching human story. Ray Davies has done his best to show us a moment of transition, the birth of the teenager, the start of rock and roll and what it meant to that post war generation. I think he’s done a good job of capturing the raw, sometimes dangerous, energy of the time as the new generation began to emerge.
The Future for the Musical of Come Dancing
I really hope that Come Dancing gets a West End transfer, or perhaps a regional tour. It was still in previews when we went so it would not be fair for anybody to write full Come Dancing reviews just yet. Still, I’m happy to give an initial thumbs up because I feel so positive about the show. The audience were on their feet clapping and dancing by the end. It was a great night out, full of excellent music, wonderful dancing, laughter and tears.
If you get the chance to see Come Dancing, even if you are not a Kinks fan, go!
There are one or two less favourable Come Dancing reviews around already but the vast majority of the audience on Friday night seemed to share my positive opinion of the production. Hopefully it will soon be everyone’s favourite new musical. We’ll be watching Come Dancing’s progress with the highest of hopes for all involved.
Other Views and reviews
- LondonTheatreGoer “I still don’t like musicals“
- Lyn Gardner, The Guardian “not theatrical rock’n'roll“
- Wharf “sure-fire hit“
- Tim Walker, The Independent
- Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard
- Londonist
- British Theatre Guide “I have rarely been more touched“
- Kate Kellaway – Observer “hackneyed”, “embarrassing“
- Financial Times “a comfy evening
- Sunday Times – “wide-eyed fun and tension”, “mostly sweet and sometimes memorable”
Open Comments
Agree or disagree with our review, have you seen Come Dancing yet or hoping to? Ray Davies fan or not, what do you think of the issues and ideas behind bringing this musical to London?
Update
The show is almost over now so will it make a transfer to the West End? Make up your own mind and thanks to our commentor Frank for this video:
Ray Davies WILL be in Come Dancing July 31, 2008
Posted by Andy in : Theatre Royal Stratford East, come dancing , add a commentTheatre Royal Stratford East London announced today that the legendary Ray Davies will be leading the cast of Come Dancing. Ray, who also wrote Come Dancing, based on his own childhood memories, is of course the former front-man of The Kinks and one of the world’s most respected songwriters. Come Dancing will be packed full of brand new, never heard before songs penned by the songwriting master-craftsman himself. Definitely a memorable night out! Linda was quick to get on to the Stratford box office so we’ll be there in prime position one night in the first week.
Come Dancing – Ray Davies new musical July 16, 2008
Posted by Linda in : Musicals, Theatre Royal Stratford East, come dancing, dates , 6commentsCome Dancing with the Kinks
Come Dancing, is a new musical written by former Kinks singer-songwriter Ray Davies. It will open at the Theatre Royal Stratford East for a short run (13 September to 25 October 2008) before a possible West End transfer. Although the title comes from a song written by Davies in 1983 the show is not a jukebox musical. Original music and lyrics have been written by Davies. The multi-talented Davies (no mean poet as well as song writer) originated the story and co-wrote the book with Paul Sirett, there’s also additional material by Terry Johnson.The show will be directed by Theatre Royal Stratford East’s artistic director Kerry Michael.
The Story
Come Dancing is set in the Ilford Palais in the 1950s. According to the web site it:
“takes us back to a time when Saturday night dancing at the local palais was the magical, not-to-be-missed highlight of every young person’s week”.
Back in 2000 in an interview with Rolling Stone Davies said:
“‘Come Dancing’ is a musical with lots of actors and actresses. It’s about my sisters and how they lived through that time in post-war Britain.”
Ray Davies
Londoner Ray Davies was the frontman and main song writer for The Kinks from the early days (1963) to the end of the band in mid-1990s. He wrote classic hits such as “You Really Got Me”, “All Day and All of the Night”, “Lola”, “Waterloo Sunset”, “Do It Again” and one of my particular favourites “Muswell Hillbilly Boy”. As I mentioned he’s also a published author of both fiction and poetry.
My thoughts on Come Dancing
It’s been a long time coming but it might just be worth the wait. It had a pretty good eight week workshop at the National way back in 2000 and has been promised for further development ever since. Now I’m a Kinks fan of old and I think Ray Davies is a brilliant song writer so I will definitely be hoping to see this at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. I just wonder if Come Dancing will finally make it to the West End, we shall see….
Come Dancing Kinks Video
Meanwhile here’s a video taster of Come Dancing
Thanks for reading London Theatre Breaks articles about come dancing
theatre breaks
