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The Last Tango
Birmingham Hippodrome
***** ALL good
things have to end and in Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace’s case the
end is very good indeed with an elegant showcase of their considerable
talents. The pair, who danced to
fame on Strictly Come Dancing,
complete their trilogy of shows with a quite stunning display of
beautiful dancing wrapped around what, at times, is a moving storyline. When you are young a loft is somewhere you bung
stuff out And that is the setting as the ever reliable
Teddy Kempner plays George, a man with his best years behind him, who climbs into
his loft and loses himself, happily, in his memories which we see re-enacted on
the stage below him. Kempner added both
humour and a very endearing character as the bartender in Vincent and
Flavia’s first theatrical venture,
Midnight Tango, set in a Buenos Aires
bar, and again as the gumshoe in the homage to 1940’s Hollywood private
detective movies in Dance ‘Til Dawn. And he does not let us down here, his childish
excitement as he discovers yet another piece of his past from Flit fly
sprays to rocking horses, is a delight as
he leads us first through the 1930s, as his younger self and Flavia first
meet as she drops a glove – a symbol of love to the end - through the 40s, 60s -
remember the pineapple ice buckets - and on to the 80s. The passage of half a century is clearly defined
by some wonderful costumes evoking the various eras from Vicky Gill
along with music that takes us through swing, boogie and jive and the
ever present ballroom – we even had a flamenco routine from Flavia. Flavia’s costumes, incidentally, were quite
exceptional, elegant, tailored to perfection and despite not so much
fitting as clinging, allowed for the sort of dancing and movement that
shows just why the pair are such a class act. The ensemble of eight dancers are excellent in their own right with routines that range from energetic to elegant through the unfolding years but the stars of the show are undoubtedly Vincent and Flavia, that is who the audience have come to see and they do not disappoint. They have danced together for more than 20 years
and it shows, they move as one and when it comes to the Argentine tango
they are a class apart, ending the show, as you might expect, with a
final stunning display full of sensual, animal passion amid tangling
legs and lightning fast kicks. If it really is the last tango, it is one
to remember. But is wasn’t just tango we had, innocent dances around picnics in the 30s, more sombre scenes in the war along with happy home comings and even had John William’s haunting violin theme from Schindler’s List played by Oliver Lewis.
We went through proposal, marriage, children, and
more children and – this was before Sky or even BBC2 remember- even more
children and, the inevitable loss of a lifelong partner, which is where
we leave George packing his suitcase of memories and climbing down from
his loft after being called by his son: “It’s time Dad!” Time for what, we never know, sad or happy -
all we know is George can only take the memories he can carry, leaving
the rest behind, which is a poignant ending to the story of his life, an
ending we are left to wonder or decide ourselves. The idea of a loftful of memories brought to life
is a clever one helped by an equally clever set design from Morgan Large
with minimal props changing the decades and a matrix of lights to add
interest, so a mention too for James Whiteside’s lighting design which
all added to the drama of solo dances. Musical Director Steve Geere led an excellent
eight piece band with Matthew Gent providing some fine period vocals. Directed, as were the previous two Vincent and
Flavia shows, by Karen Bruce The Last Tango runs to Saturday, 26
September. Roger Clarke
22-09-15 Birmingham Hippodrome
BOOK The Last Tango returns to the Midlands at Coventry Belgrade 26-28 May, 2016. BOOK
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of sight, out of mind and out of the way but eventually you reach an age
where a loft has become your store of memories, your life in battered
toys, old photos, clothes that have mysteriously shrunk over time and
worthless treasures that are nevertheless priceless.