Fringe Review: Kids Just Wanna Boogie – Back to the 80’s Interactive Disco
by Catherine Leo
Venue: Kevin Crease Studios, North Adelaide
Presented just a half an hour after it’s sister live show finishes (see Review here), the “Kids Just Wanna Boogie – Back to the 80’s Interactive Disco” provides a unique opportunity to connect with the stars of a theatre show, side by side on the dancefloor.
Characters MJ and Roxy from “Kids Just Wanna Have Fun – Back to the 80’s Live Theatre Show” are not only brilliant and energetic, but they are warm and engaging with the young audience (ideally any age up to about 10 or 11 seemed to be the consensus amongst parents). MJ and Roxy ran the kids (and their parents…there were lots of them on the dancefloor!) through at least 20 hit songs from the era, showing how to do some of the iconic dances or just letting the kids go free. I was most impressed by the encouragement they gave to children, saying “Wow, that’s amazing…what a cool move!” etc, so the playing field was very even and the crowd of 40 or so were truly loving it. I glanced around the room loving seeing parents connect with their kids in this way and it was overwhelmingly a common theme from the positive feedback I heard afterwards.
One parent said “I really enjoyed dancing with my daughter to my favourite music. We were on our feet the whole time.”
Another said her son of 10 years old loved it, and was thrilled to win a prize in an air guitar competition, and while the older children in her group were less into it, she commended the actors for trying their best to engage them in the experience.
During the disco I wondered whether the disco would only be fun for those who had seen the live theatre show just prior, however when I spoke to some parents afterwards, I discovered one of the most dancey families hadn’t been to the live show at all, as they hadn’t quite understood the difference between the two events.
She said “The disco was fabulous and was a great time spent with the kids….a dance down memory lane! We will definitely come back next week to see the live theatre show now.”
So it seems it’s not necessary to have seen the live show, HOWEVER… I highly recommend that one too so if you book in for that one, stay for the disco too. As a pair, I felt they were brilliant.
Finally, just a short word about the wider venue that is ‘Live from The Chapel of Love and Kevin Crease Studios’ because I think it’s worth mentioning that even on a 40 degree day, this space was cool (misting tents….VERY cool!) and shady and had some creative catering options too. Kids could have an icey mug of orange juice for $3 and while the limited food (Latin style) may not appeal to all kids (mine included) there was a box of free apples, and for the grown ups to have a nice drink there were a range of options but Sangria was a highlight for me! The venue operators offer a revolving happy hour that is valid for one hour after YOUR show, so you don’t have to wait for a certain time of day to enjoy a cheaper drink. Great idea I thought!
The air conditioned studio space for the disco was perfect on a hot day and my biggest thumbs up goes to MJ and Roxy for their enthusiasm and energy and kindness to all participants. Damn fine moonwalking too. Us grownups don’t get many opportunities to go and dance with our kids, as well as educate them about the songs of our childhood so I suggest you grab some tickets and cut Footloose! Oh and in case you’re a bit scared at the thought of dancing…there is actually no pressure to do so, it just appeared that nothing was going to hold anyone back, so you’d be surprised how the happy energy will remove any embarrassment. Rock on!
For more information and ticket bookings see the FringeTix website here.
This Review was written and photographed by Catherine Leo, professional family photographer and Play & Go mum. See the Catherine Leo Photography website here and Facebook page here.
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Play & Go Adelaide have been granted media access to the Adelaide Fringe 2015. All reviews are our own opinion from personal experience, unpaid and not influenced by the artist/s and/or promoter/s in any way.
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