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Dance Review: Dance 'Til Dawn ****

Lorna Irvine reviews 'a camp, dazzling excursion into Hollywood's golden era'.

Strictly Come Dancing favourites Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone follow-up their West End triumph Midnight Tango with another massive hit.

Dance 'Til Dawn is a camp, dazzling excursion into Hollywood's golden era, with classy dames, wise guys and exotic cocktails. It plays very much in parody but is still a loving homage, with witty, madcap and ultimately seductive choreography by Karen Bruce.

Shambolic, Mickey Spillane-like private eye Tommy Dubrowski (a cheeky narrator in the shape of Teddy Kempner) is investigating a sex scandal, involving beautiful blonde bombshell Lana Clemenza (Abbie Osman pastiching Marilyn, Rita et al to perfection), some risqué photographs and a gun. Inevitably, he falls for her. ‘It'll never work,’ he sighs. ‘I'm a Capricorn...and she's... a psychopath.’

Before the naughty starlet can shake a tail feather, she's chasing struggling matinee idol Tony De Luca (Simone, just the right side of seedy) and his hot gal, Sadie Strauss (Cacace, knowing and fiery), ain't impressed. So Lana frames him in a fit of jealousy. Can De Luca prove his innocence, and more importantly, does anyone care?!

Of course, the plot is flimsy as a frilly negligee, but it's a fine excuse to have enormous fun with the 40s/50s era, whipping up hi-octane movement, like a Vaudeville swing routine with a hat between our heroes; a quickstep over a corpse, and a smokin', high-steppin' ensemble of cool speakeasy molls and camp cops.

The framing (in a compositional sense) is gorgeous, with Morgan Large's set designs a luxurious hybrid of Edward Hopper's interiors and Cecil B De Mille's audacious film backdrops. The sliding scenery is as restless as the dancers. To the side, Oliver Darley serenades with his sweet jazz-inflected voice. The fabulous repertoire ranges from ‘Feelin' Good’ to ‘Moon River’, and Osman herself does a powerhouse rendition of ‘That's Life’.

Naturally, it all ends with a sexy Argentine tango to ‘Tango de Los Exilados’... which is, after all, what put Flavia and Vincent firmly in the nation's hearts. They fit together beautifully, still sharing a natural, effortless chemistry, after all this time.

Dance ‘Til Dawn is at the Kings in Glasgow until April 11 before continuing its tour of the UK.

Tags: dance

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