Arts > Theatre

Thriller Live

Norwich Theatre Royal

16/02/17

Thriller Live opened in the West End in 2009, and has come to the Norwich Theatre Royal twice since. I decided to catch it this time round to see what made it such a hit.

The performance was led by four vocalists, Victoria Pasion, Shaquille Hemmans, Rory Taylor and Britt Quentin. All did a great job of steering the audience through the Jackson back catalogue.  As expected, the men emulated Jackson’s vocals, each with their own take on his signature howls and trills. Pasion impressed me the most, nailing such hits as ABC and I Want You Back with her own steely vocals - ever so slightly MJ-influenced, but soulful enough to add variation to the cast.

The vocalist and dancers changed costumes to match each Jackson era, a great idea in principle. However, some of the costume choices seemed slightly confused. For example, during Blame it on the Boogie and Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) fluorescents, nerd glasses and tube socks made an appearance. I wasn’t around in the 70s, but surely flares and metallic would have set the scene better? The costume choices rarely impressed me; they barely seemed to meet West End standards.

Sean Christopher played Jackson himself, occasionally appearing on stage to give near-perfect emulations of the King of Pop. Christopher set himself apart from the other dancers, executing moves like the moonwalk and Jackson’s gravity defying Smooth Criminal lean. 

The other dancers may have been shown up by Christopher, but when he went backstage for a breather, their professionalism shone. Throughout the two hour show, the women and men dancers switched from pop to rock and soul to disco with no seams. They danced with precision, flair, and infectious musical theatre “I’m really enjoying this!” smiles.

Whether fake or not, the grins convinced me – it genuinely seemed like the whole cast loved Jackson and wanted to maintain his legacy. Taylor and Quentin discussed Jackson's career between songs, highlighting his musical evolution and stopping to debate whether Thriller or Bad was his best album (Bad, obviously). 

The cast was impressive, the set less so. Too bright strobe lights blinded the audience at points, and huge screens fit for Wembley looked a bit daft in the Theatre Royal. Rockin Robin was a bit of a dud, a child dressed as young MJ appeared on the screen, singing while the dancers performed in real life. This seemed totally unnecessary – why not hire a singer to sing it on stage? It all looked a bit …tacky.

If I were too describe the show in three words, I’d probably include the word tacky. Tacky, but great. Thriller Live wasn’t as slick and sophisticated as Jackson himself, but it certainly recalled his other traits. Heartfelt, entertaining and eclectic, the cast successfully bought Jackson’s undying legacy to Norwich.

6/10