REVIEW: Impressive Darren dazzles with his one-man duet and team of dancers
IT WAS billed as A Night At The Musicals, and it was certainly a title which attracted a packed house to the Howden Park Centre last Friday evening when Darren Shaw and three dancers took the stage and sang and danced their hearts out.
Two for the price of one took on a whole new meaning in this show in which we, the audience, were encouraged to join in with some of the well known songs.
If you looked around, all you could see was a sea of smiling faces having a great time reminiscing and sharing some of their favourite moments from the musicals.
This was courtesy of one very talented young man sporting a George Clooney haircut and diamond earring, some nifty costume changes, an incredible voice range and an endearing smile.
Using a variety of spectacular, if sometimes dazzling lighting effects, and the obligatory dry ice creating an atmosphere that makes the singer appear suspended in clouds, the show began with a spotlight into which sauntered Mr Shaw in top hat and tails singing On The Street Where You Live, from My Fair Lady.
Once again the excellent acoustics of the Brian Duguid Theatre played host to emotive, full orchestral music courtesy of impeccably timed tapes.
Maybe it was just a shade loud in the first half which saw something very unusual and totally original.
Everyone is familiar with The Sound of Music and the recent Connie Fisher version of The Hills are alive.
Enter Darren Shaw looking splendid in lederhosen, like a denizen of Austria and straight from the Alps.
To everyone's amazement and some barely concealed audience mirth, he became a soprano and made the hills come alive in his own special way.
As the show progressed, the format of two songs by Mr Shaw interspersed with dance routines by the hard-working dancers began to win us over.
For the first time ever, the famous duet from Grease, You're The One That I Want, was sung by Mr Shaw who performed the male and female parts.
Using his falsetto voice – an attribute which was once taught in Italy in the middle ages resulting in the singers being known as castratto (please, don't ask) – Shaw sang the SuBo hit from Les Miserables as he duetted with himself in I Know Him So Well.
In The Phantom of the Opera sequence he once again sang the famous duet which takes Christine, the soprano and The Phantom to perform, all by himself.
As for the three dancers, two glamorous blondes and a bonny brunette, they proved their versatility by dancing a variety of styles from musical comedy to modern with a brave attempt at Irish River Dancing which drew cheers from the audience.
The finale saw Shaw resplendent in a mint green sparkling shirt and matching flares with the dancers in glittering jump suits so there was no doubt that we would hear something from Mamma Mia and we certainly did.
This night at the theatre was indeed a feast of tunes from the musicals which at first, thanks to Mr Shaw's dual voice, seemed a little hard to digest but soon became an acquired taste.
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Weather for Bathgate
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 6 C to 15 C
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