★★★★

“an electrifying showcase of singing, dancing and choreography”

Tap and Irish dancing are storming the stage again, borne on the winds of Adam Garcia’s ‘Emerald Storm’. This surging, pulsing whirlwind of a show pushes the boundaries, bringing tap and Irish dancing back into the mainstream. Though the eye of the storm is a little unfocused, offering more cabaret than cohesion.

A live band (Fiddlin’ About) sets the scene as you find your seats. The show opens with a bang, Irish dancers roaring onto the boards and singers filling the stalls during a rousing rendition of ‘New York Girls’. A loose story unfolds when a rival troupe of tap dancers crashes the spotlight, triggering a fiery dance off. Step by step, their shared rhythm crosses the divide, blurring genres and exploring new ones. Accompanied by live vocals and bursts of comedy, it builds to a sweeping surge of harmonious song and dance.

Produced, directed and choreographed by Garcia and Samantha Heather, ‘Emerald Storm’ is packed with passion. Though for a loose plot, there is a lot going on. Think tapping and Irish dancing and singing and a choir and comedy and even a dancing mop. While great in isolation, the whole feels a little disjointed. The range of dance styles is also ambitious, featuring hip hop, contemporary, jazz and even tango. Some land, like the slick fusion of tap and Irish with modern styles. Some don’t, like the sudden shift to jazz and a shaky tango from the Irish dancers. The result is a tonal tangle which could do with refining.

The direction by Garcia, Samantha Heather and Tim Newman is also a little hit and miss. There is inventive use of space and levels, but it’s a little busy at times. The blocking doesn’t take full advantage of the thrust stage, playing mostly to the front. The comedic numbers provide some welcome levity but could do with more dancing – especially when it’s revealed that ‘Mop Boy’ and ‘Assistant Weekend Manager’ are both extremely talented!

Where the show truly delivers is the dancing: riveting, relentless, and right on the beat. Bayley Graham steals the show with feet of fire, commanding the stage and oozing charisma. The taps are easy, fast and crisp, evoking a young Ann Miller – I just can’t tear my eyes away. Olivia Graydon’s blistering Irish footwork is a fierce contender, tearing up the stage with a flurry of leaps, kicks and clicks. Adam Brant also sets the stage ablaze once ‘Mop Boy’ is unleashed. The whole troupe is fantastic, whirling and kicking with flair and pizazz.

They bring Garcia and Heather’s largely stunning choreography to life. The tap sections blow me away, fusing easily with other dance forms. The language of the Irish steps initially feels a little restricted but goes on to defy genres in a refreshingly contemporary take. Though the ‘fake out’ finale, with barely any choreography, stalls the momentum. Luckily the two ‘encores’ are showstoppers.

Tom Ball’s singing is devastating once it finds its stride. He completely comes into his own during the notoriously challenging ‘Halo’. His soaring belt, sparkling tenor notes and effortless runs dazzle and even steal the spotlight from the dancers.

Newman and David Sims’ inventive scoring gives each piece punch and the bassier numbers get the audience buzzing. The shifts to jazz and tango could do with more of a lead in. The sound design (Cristiano Vuolo) hasn’t found the right balance. The music is almost deafening, drowning out the singing and tapping at points. It got steadily better but could do with further attention before future performances.

The lighting design (Joe Wailes) is fun, with candy pops of colour contrasting against more dramatic moments and footlights adding a Vaudevillian touch. The costumes (Martha Thorpe) subtly shift as stylistic genres meld, and the darker tones contrast nicely with the exuberant staging.

‘Emerald Storm’ is an electrifying showcase of singing, dancing and choreography. The structure and direction could do with refinement, though with a little polish this emerald will truly shine.

LA CLIQUE at Christmas in Leicester Square

★★★★

“the perfect Christmas treat”

It was twenty years ago today (well, give or take a couple of months) that David Bates unveiled his alternative cabaret show at the Edinburgh Festival. Although it has grown in stature and reputation over the years it has retained its intimacy and subversive exclusivity – as though it is still a naughty secret for those that are fortunate enough to witness it. Wandering into the Spiegeltent in Leicester Square is like straying into one’s own alternative wonderland – albeit sharing it with a thousand other awe-struck spectators. “La Clique” has attracted many imitators, but Bates’ ability to lure the cream of the cabaret and circus scene into his extended and eccentric family puts the show into a genre of its own; mixing irreverence, sexiness and mayhem with jaw-dropping virtuosity and derring-do.

For the opening night of its twentieth anniversary, there is expectation. A birthday cake came out and the audience were invited to sing ‘Happy Birthday’, but otherwise it is business as usual. In fact, in some ways the show feels slightly more restrained than its previous seasons. Its censorship rating has definitely slipped down the scale – you’d be blushing less if accompanied by your maiden aunt – and the variety seems to be getting a bit slimmer. It is more circus than cabaret now. But no matter. It still thrills and inspires awe, and the performers flirtatiousness demolishes any boundary between the acts and the audience. On that note, if you manage to grab a front row seat you could well find yourself on the stage at some point (take that as a warning or an incitement depending on your preferences).

The drama still weaves through the evening. There is no storyline as such, but there is a natural cohesion between the acts as though an invisible thread links them together. It is the camaraderie we are feeling, and we want to be part of the party. There are a few newcomers to the troupe, including the ‘dysfunctional duo’ (their words – not mine) Isis Clegg-Vinell and Nathan Price. What they do on roller skates is almost beyond words. The advice to remain seated during their act probably sums it up best. They later team up with aerialist Cornelius Atkinson. Solo, Atkinson has already stunned us with his routine, but the three of them together (under the banner of ‘Trio Vertex’) defy the laws of physics, logic, gravity and most certainly good old common sense. The beauty and the danger, coupled with the eroticism and the precision, is what defines the essence of “La Clique”.

Humour runs deep too. Florian Brooks has an elegance and a nonchalance that belies the inventiveness and imagination of a stunning juggling act. Complemented by his reluctant assistant, Bubbles the goldfish (go see for yourself if you think I’m talking gibberish now) we laugh and we gape in equal measure. Asher Treleaven, when not astounding us with his Diablo skills, ups the bawdy humour stakes. As much a comic genius as a circus wizard, his hilarious repartee alone earns the show’s 16+ age guidance. Just when our muscles are being stretched through laughter, our necks take the brunt now as we strain to gaze to the heavens to witness aerialist Miranda Menzies, whose glossy knot of dark hair seems to be the only part of her that prevents her plummeting thirty feet to the ground.

Danik Abishev also balances the risqué with the risky. And with ladders. Oh, and with fire. Even, at one point, using a member of the audience as a prop. As we watch his balancing feats, we are also wondering – and not for the first or last time during the evening – ‘how does he do it?’. Bayley Graham zips through his tap dance routine like a machine gun on speed, leaving us breathless while he still manages to flirt and sip prosecco with the staccato clicks of his heel ricocheting around the tent at an alarming tempo. Stalwart and veteran of “La Clique”, Katharine Arnold, wows, as always, with her sultry sexy choreography that ignores all dimensions of space as she shimmers up and down her silks (no – that’s not a euphemism; it’s a perfectly legitimate circus phrase).

In the past, there has perhaps been more of a sense of real danger. We are left with a tiny nagging feeling that not all the stops have been pulled out for their twentieth birthday. But that is no reason at all not to attend the party. It’s also the fifth year running that the show has made its home in Leicester Square for the festive season. “La Clique” is the perfect Christmas treat. If you’ve never seen it – see it. If you have seen it – see it again. It makes life beautiful for a couple of hours. And don’t forget to pick your jaw up off the floor on the way out.

Tag Archives: Bayley Graham

EMERALD STORM

★★★★

Emerald Theatre

EMERALD STORM

Emerald Theatre

★★★★

“an electrifying showcase of singing, dancing and choreography”

EMERALD STORM

Emerald Theatre

Reviewed on 3rd September 2025

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Michael Porter

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EMERALD STORM

EMERALD STORM

EMERALD STORM

LA CLIQUE

★★★★

Christmas in Leicester Square

LA CLIQUE at Christmas in Leicester Square

★★★★

“the perfect Christmas treat”