A Chorus Line

Not so much a show as a 110 minute immersive theatrical experience, Curve Theatre's touring production of the record-breaking 1975 Broadway musical 'A Chorus Line' arrived at Norwich Theatre Royal this week. First staged in Leicester in 2021 as a post-Covid Christmas show, the essence of 'A Chorus Line' remains as valid today as it did almost fifty years ago. With cuts in artistic subsidies and grants, audiences hit by cost of living crises, and some theatres facing an uncertain future, dedicated dancers face tougher and tougher competition as they compete for work on stage.

Grabbing a drink from the bar beforehand (there is no interval in this show), the show begins with the open audition as company and ensemble go through their dance moves to the dramatic opening number, 'I Hope I Get It'. Seventeen dancers make it through to the next stage, and what follows is a probing investigation into what makes each one these individuals tick. And as we learn the back stories of these dancers – tales of childhood abuse, insecurities, sexual discovery, fear of ageing, director Nikolai Foster provides the audience with a picture of seventeen ambitious individuals. A hand-held video camera intrusively prods and pokes its way into the dancers' faces as each one tells their story. The seventeen become eighteen as Cassie (played on opening night by Laura Hills), an ex-flame of director Zach (Adam Cooper) and a former leading dancer, pleads with him to be allowed to join the audition.

It is a gritty ride, and one on which the entire cast collectively journey. There are emotional confessions along the route that re-emphasise the dedication and struggle that aspiring dancers endure, simply to gain work on the stage. And there are moments of despair, as one young dancer is injured, and is taken off to hospital.

But what all that pain, struggle and humiliation is about is revealed in the show’s final big dance climax when, under a barrage of lights, and in their glittering golden costumes, the entire company come together, now almost indistinguishable from one another, in the wonderfully choreographed final dramatic song, 'One'. Only after this do we learn that it is just eight dancers, four boys and four girls, that will have made it successfully through the entire audition process.

Moving, intense, and revelatory, Curve Theatre's touring version of 'A Chorus Line' should be seen by anyone who loves musical theatre. It is a tough call to pick out individual performances, but Laura Hills tonight was truly impressive as Cassie, and Manuel Pacific moved me in his portrayal of Paul San Marco. But, as is the whole point and the message behind 'A Chorus Line' – there are no stars, only dancers.

But, without Matthew Spalding's seven-piece ensemble, tucked away behind a screen at the rear of the stage, and performing Marvin Hamlisch's mighty musical score, the show would be nothing. So, perhaps I should revise that. There are no stars in 'A Chorus Line'. Only dancers and musicians.