Well, we had an absolute blast at Buxton Fringe! Four fantastic shows with brilliant feedback. We even had two audience members return for a second show! We met some lovely folk and caught a few other great shows too. The Fringe volunteers and staff were fantastic and we were made to feel super welcome. To top the whole thing off, we received the Buxton Fringe award for dance AND this excellent review! Happy reading!
‘I don’t like football, you know that.’ This was the first line I uttered in the comedy An Evening with Gary Lineker, 16 years ago, and never has a line summed up the actor as much as the character. I loathe football with a passion and have been known to go into a decline when a major tournament comes into view.
So how can I explain the delight I felt at Next Door Dance’s show, The Beautiful Game? Choreographed by Jennifer Manderson, this is a witty, clever celebration of soccer in all its forms, from schoolboy kick-about to international glory, from professional fouls to Sunday league, from referees to armchair punditry and football widows.
Manderson and her hugely talented team – Hayley Ross, Georgina Saunders, Louise Gibbs and Laura Savage – bring passion and movement to vox pop interviews, to commentary, as well as to music as disparate as Doris Day, Nat King Cole, D’Ream and Spandau Ballet, seamlessly moving from one ‘scene’ to the next, sometimes casually solo, then snapping into slick ensemble work – always focused, always in character.
I don’t like football and yet this show managed to almost persuade me of its charms, or at least of what its lovers see in it. At 45 minutes, it’s a game in one half, and one that anyone wanting an original, accomplished experience shouldn’t miss. The girls done good.
Robbie Carnegie