Rev Stan's Theatre Blog

Not actually me shuffling around with metal on the bottom of my shoes, no, the closest I get to tap dancing is having a bit of a bop while I'm cleaning my teeth at the bathroom sink…

Anyhoo…tap dancing or rather Tap Dogs at the Novello Theatre. Not my usual thing but an opportunity arose and so I thought what the heck – the dancers are bound to be quite cute if nothing else. So off I pop with friend Kate, fortified with steak and red wine and ready for some toe tapping.

Tap Dogs is six Australian tap dancers and a set that looks a bit like a building site and, well, they tap dance. They tap dance on metal surfaces, on wooden surfaces, on girders, on pipes, on ladders going up slopes, going down slopes. They tap dance while bouncing basket balls and pulling ropes and with two girls drumming and with 'tap' operated sound effects. They tap in water, they tap upside down, they tap with sparks flying. They tap while throwing water over each other…you get the picture.

The show is about an hour and 20 minutes long straight through and I spent much of it thinking to myself 'OK so what's next? A back flip maybe?' A bit mean I know but I confess that I was waiting for something, well, a little bit more spectacular.

I think tap suffers from looking a hell of a lot easier than it actually is, although when I wasn't wondering when they were going to start doing semi-dangerous stunts my mind did wander to thinking about how good a work out it must be for your legs and bum.

As a much shorter show among a variety of acts I'm sure I'd have thought it was brilliant but for well over an hour it was sort of entertaining but probably not really my thing.

Others views:

Catherine Usher at The Stage said: 'Ultimately Tap Dogs will hit the spot for those that love an innovative
and virile approach to dance. But those also in pursuit of a plot,
however flimsy, would be better off heading a few doors down to Dirty
Dancing at the Aldwych.'

Sarah Crompton in the Telegraph gave it three stars and thought it made for 'an undemanding night of noisy fun'.

What'sOnStage also gave it three stars saying: 'If it’s a feel-good dance show you are after, little beats Tap Dogs'.