@ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 26 Mar 2016; and
@ King’s Theatre, Glasgow, from Mon 18 – Sat 23 Apr 2016
Michael Jackson is an enigma, and whether you love or loathe him as a person, it is difficult to deny that his music had a huge impact on the world. His intoxicating blend of various music styles, legendary dance movements and catchy lyrics is brought back to life in Thriller Live.
The show is basically a concert celebrating Michael Jackson’s works and takes the audience from the early days of the Jackson Five to his later works such as Earth Song and They Don’t Care About Us. The big dance numbers are explosive and each and every one of the cast is worthy of the ticket price. Their energy never lapses throughout the two hour show and their singing is faultless. Sean Christopher, as Michael Jackson himself, is eerily accurate with the trademark trilby, white glove and moonwalk. The excitement is palpable every time he takes to the stage, as the audience is able to get as close as they ever will to seeing the late King of Pop.
Jackson was a showman and the team behind this production certainly know how to live up to that with a live band, pyrotechnics, glitzy costumes and a story behind each number. It all adds up to a thoroughly entertaining evening which builds as the performance goes on, Act Two being significantly more bouncy than the first.
This is due in part to the more familiar hits being kept for this half and it is understandable that the show should want to follow Jackson’s musical career in chronological order. But given the lack of storytelling and narration, almost extinct by the crescendo of Act 2, it would do no harm to include some more toe-tappers in the opening hour.
Is it a musical? Is it a concert? Who knows, but the impressive cast, choreography and staging are enough to have the audience of Jackson fans dancing in the aisles by the end of the show.
Find The Wee Review on Twitter and Facebook
Follow Aisling on Twitter @aisling1105