Kids in London – Tap Dogs

So your kids loved “Brittania High”? And “You’ve got to dance?” Then they are probably Adam Garcia fans. Me, I remember him as a fresh faced actor in “Coyote Ugly” starring opposite the lead – with a soft Australian accent seeming so out of place in an otherwise wholly American “dreams can come true” fantasy. My daughter is smitten with Adam. She is also a tap dancing fanatic. And that is why I bought tickets to see “Tap Dogs” at the Novello Theatre in Aldwych.

The “story” is based on a foreman (Adam Garcia) on a construction site with four fellow workers. The stage is set with a large boot print. Young lads will be delighted that the guys don’t dress up for this show – they are in jeans, tee shirts, backwards facing caps, cut off cargo pants, large boots and even hoodies. It's Blokes Bonding on Broadway.

Whilst tap dancing brilliantly – and synchronised - they also run up and down construction platforms, jump over metal beams (in formation), run up and down stairs, climb ladders, with flash lights and even play with basketballs (in time to the dancing). There are even scenes where a guy tap dances upside down and another where they tap dance in water (with lots of splashing). The final scenes have daring dancing amongst welding sparks. It’s like a series of acrobatic circus acts – all accompanied by powerful tap dancing. In a nice twist, there are a couple of attractive women doing an impressive job with drums suspended in cages above the stage and the show ends – Australian roots showing – with some can of lager.

The prospect of 90 minutes of uninterrupted tap dancing didn’t exactly fill me with excitement However, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It was exciting, it was different, it was fast paced, it was noisy (the tap dancing and rock music), it kept me guessing and it really entertained. And those guys were handsome – and strong. And actually quite funny in a number of scenes. What a brilliant antidote to all that street dancing – this is a return to traditional dancing – but with a very modern (and macho) twist. So, if you have a young son and want to take him to a West End show – this is the show for you. But hurry – it’s only on til September.