Theatre Review: Saturday Night Fever - Theatre Royal, Glasgow ✭✭✭

This festive season, Saturday Night Fever is taking over Glasgow’s newly refurbished Theatre Royal. Based on the popular film of the same name, the show tracks the story of Tony Manero, a 19 year old Brooklyn boy who has a passion for dance and dreams of more to life than his dead end job in a dead end town. In a bid to escape his religious mother and redundant father, he teams up with fellow go getter Stephanie and enters a dance contest that is set to change his life for good.

Danny Bayne makes a great Tony Manero and commands the stage from his first strut. Bayne can act and sing, but his main selling point in the show is his dancing and he has no trouble mastering every move from Andrew Wright’s fast and fun choreography. His female counterpart, Naomi Slights, is equally impressive and her vocals in particular stood out amongst the rest. They were both joined on stage by a multi-purpose cast who played their own instruments which brought a unique new dimension to the production.

There were however more than a few sound issues, and the dark and gritty plot seemed to get lost from scene to scene which made it difficult to become invested in the characters or their struggles.

The Bee Gees hits the audience know and love are present and enjoyed but instead of carbon copies the tracks are given a makeover and performed to suit the current mood of the plot.  Although the story has the potential to be gripping and emotive there really wasn’t enough to sink your teeth into and it leaves the audience underwhelmed. 

Saturday Night Fever is at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow until 3rd January 2015. For details and tickets visit