The wigs were coiffed to perfection. The gowns immaculately pressed. Falsetto voices reaching to the rafters.
It could have been the opening to Saturday Night Fever, the latest touring production to hit Oxford’s New Theatre. It was, in fact, the annual cathedral service marking the start of the legal year.
The wigs in the nave belonged to Oxford Crown Court’s circuit judges, the Santa-scarlet gown was a High Court judge’s and the source of the heavenly music was Christ Church’s cathedral choir – rather than the Bee Gees.
Barely 20 minutes later, I was in a rather more comfortable seat in the kitsch Art Deco splendour of New Theatre’s cavernous auditorium.
Based on the hit 1977 film starring John Travolta as discotheque-mad Tony Manero, Saturday Night Fever is a riot of disco dancing built around some of the biggest hits of the 1970s. By the end of the night, you’re sure to be reaching for your boogie shoes.
Italian-American hero Tony lives in Bay Ridge, a down-at-heel Brooklyn neighbourhood, with his sister, mum and out-of-work abusive father.
Holding down a mundane job at a local paint shop and hanging around with sex-mad, street-fighting childhood pals, he lives for his Saturday night forays on the dancefloor of club 2001 Odyssey.
When the nightclub announces a dance contest, Tony sees a chance to show off his talents – winning a $1,000 cash prize and the heart of would-be Manhattan snob Stephanie Mangano (played by Rebekah Bryant).
Our first glimpse of Tony (smouldering Jack Wilcox) sees him mince across the stage with the assumed self-confidence of a tough-talking man child who is anything but confident.
It’s a power strut. Hips ‘popped’, one foot plonked in front of the other. The kind of strut that you could place over a crumbling wall in full confidence that it would hold up the rest of the building.
But this show is no edifice in need of propping up. It’s a talented cast, ably led by square-jawed Wilcox. There is barely a toe out of place nor a body roll that falls flat.
Wilcox dances beautifully. A dream-like sequence sees him pirouette across the stage with perfectly-pointed toes – hardly a surprise for a dancer who trained with the National Youth Ballet.
The songs are pitch perfect, sung by three Bee Gees stand-ins, dressed in flared suits of liquid gold.
Faizal Jaye as 2001 Odyssey’s resident DJ is a joy to watch. With his shirt slashed to the waist, his foot-stomping gyrations at one point threaten to bring part of the scaffolding stage set tumbling to the floor.
Saturday Night Fever is at the New Theatre until Saturday, October 15. For tickets, visit: www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-theatre-oxford.
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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.
To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward
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