STORIES – THE TAP DANCE SENSATION

Peacock Theatre

★★★★

“overtly and unashamedly flashy”

If Maman and Papa had named their child Jean or Pierre, he would have enjoyed an easier life.

Instead, they named him Icarus (Thimeo Garin) and, by the conventions of nominative determinism, he is destined for a roller coaster life – and we are treated to this striking popcorn-chomping triumph.

Icarus will rise high, as an up-and-coming actor – albeit fending off the menacing attentions of his director (Jerome Louis) – and he will sink low – jailed, beaten and defamed in the casinos and jazz joints of this steamy city.

All the time though, he will dance. They all will. Whatever fate delivers for this motley band of crooners, misfits, femmes fatales and gangsters, they will succumb to an irrepressible urge to express themselves via movement.

From the neon signs, we must assume this is the noirish America of the 1930s. From the cigarettes and the Gallic insouciance, we can discern this ensemble is French.

Some history here. Stories, launched in 2019, is presented by the RB Dance Company, which is the brainchild of multi-hyphenate extraordinaire Roman Rachline Borgeaud (writer, composer, director, choreographer, producer).

Formed in 2018, the company was immediately successful, becoming finalists in France’s Got Talent. They repeated the feat in 2024 and in the years in between and since have been a regular presence on TV.

Hard-wired into its DNA, therefore, is the YouTube aesthetic – a sense of spectacle, story and accessibility. Every one of the 22 dance sequences is a perfectly formed unit coming together to present a single narrative. New to dance? This is your primer.

There’s a soupçon of Les Mis, a sprinkle of Disney. It is overtly and unashamedly flashy and if the plot doesn’t quite hold together, there’s another stomp in a couple of minutes to divert your attention.

Strangely for a “tap sensation” there is only a thin scattering of tap, instead we have jazz fusions and urban rhapsodies delivered with muscular precision and athleticism.

This singular vision encompasses set design (Federica Mugnai) with its swirling staircases; lighting (Alex Hardellet) with its stark brilliance; costume (Janie Loriault) and, above all, music.

Ahh, the music. Relentless beats, repeated chants (in English), catchy riffs. Think the hypnotic rhythms of Moby, think the propulsive beats of Fatboy Slim, think the urgency of Eminem’s Lose Yourself: all percussive, persuasive and pulse-quickening.

Stories is a phenomenon, its exuberance as meticulously engineered as it is irresistible.

STORIES – THE TAP DANCE SENSATION

Peacock Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 15th October 2026

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Aline Gérard

STORIES REVIEW

STORIES

★★★

“A talented company with a worthwhile idea”

Flamenc-Oh!! starts strong. Carlos Chamorro’s choreography displays the performers’ wonderful talents. David Bastidas sings and struts as the patriarch, hat and cane at the ready. Raquel Ortega is commanding as the matriarch in a black dress. Their young adult children, Anabel Moreno, flaming in red, and Raúl Ortega hammer the floor with real authority. Luis Gallo is the long-haired guitarist, newly returned from travelling the world. His guitar playing is a marvel, fast and exact. The first stretch seems to be building a show with a pulse.

The premise is sound: the older generation of a flamenco family guards the old ways, their children wait to take the baton. Passing tradition to the next generation is the story flamenco has always told about itself, and it is rich enough to carry eighty minutes.

Sadly, it does not get the chance. Directors David Ottone and Juan Ramos let the evening slide into broad, pratfall slapstick, which is particularly incongruous when performed by such talented dancers.

What possibilities are ignored! A guitarist who has seen the world and come home is an open door to the story of how his travels changed the music. Riverdance made a virtue of exploring the influences Irish dance borrows from other cultures. Flamenco has far better material. Its North African inheritance runs through Andalusian music. The Latin American tail wags the dog, with rhythms crossing and recrossing the Atlantic, reshaping the form. Despite starting the show with the well-travelled guitarist, there was no mention of how the spread of Spanish culture carried flamenco round the world. The listings promise a ‘mash-up’ between flamenco and other music. But that isn’t delivered. Extracts of the usual crowd-pleasers, like Purple Rain, are inserted as diversions.

Even the cross-dressing subplot felt gratuitous, when it could have drawn on real flamenco history: Carmen Amaya dancing in trousers, or Manuel Liñán’s men in the bata de cola. Instead, it was played as yet another gag.

The staging is effective (set by Carlos Brayda, costumes by Tatiana de Sarabia, lighting by Juani González Vega). The lighting is used well in encouraging audience participation.

At the curtain call the cast urged the audience to its feet. Was this an invitation to dance? No. A stagehand appeared with a camera to video this manufactured standing ovation. Flamenco prizes duende, that sudden, spontaneous surge of feeling. Here we had the opposite.

A talented company with a worthwhile idea plays for laughs it doesn’t need. More dancing, less gimmickry, and this would be a fantastic show.

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STORIES – THE TAP DANCE SENSATION

★★★★

UK Tour

STORIES – THE TAP DANCE SENSATION

Peacock Theatre

★★★★

“overtly and unashamedly flashy”