We had a girls night out on Wednesday 12th April as 10, all female, members of ATC went to see 'Stepping Out' at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End.
The show tells the story of ten characters; eight tap dancers, Mavis their teacher and Mrs Fraser, the pianist who accompanies them, as they meet each week to learn to dance. As the weeks and months go by we see glimpses of their lives beyond the church hall where they meet. Unhappiness and the need to escape seems to have brought them all to the class, even the teacher, and despite their differences they eventually work together to perform a tap routine in a local charity show.
Amanda Holden absolutely shone as Vera, the newcomer to the established tap dancing class. Her character was bitingly honest about her new classmates and impervious to their obvious dislike of her.
Tracy-Ann Oberman played Maxine, a leopard print loving, loud woman whose bravado obviously annoyed other members of the class. There were fantastic performances from all the members of the cast and the script was exceptionally funny. For me, the set, costumes and make-up deserve high praise:- the church hall set was fantastic - extremely accurate and a very clever use of the stage; the 1980's dress and hair-styling was exceptional. All in all - a great night out 'Stepping Out' to the theatre.