Shoreditch town hall, London
Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie’s audience participation musical gets toes tapping and bodies spinning – even if its story lacks a little depth
There’s only one thing you need to know before you dance in a ceilidh, we’re told at the start of this show: “In 2,000 years, no one has ever looked good doing it.” But who notices, or cares, when they’re spinning dizzyingly in a joyful mass of bodies? Certainly not the audience at Shoreditch town hall, as they took to the floor in Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie’s interactive new musical.
Staged in the round, with ample space for stripping the willow, Ceilidh is directed by Sam Pinkleton, whose Tony-winning Oh, Mary! proved what he can do with anarchic energy. It began its UK tour at the Pitlochry festival theatre after a short run in the US and feels like an authentic community event. Before curtain-up, actor-musicians mill sociably with the punters on the dancefloor, and by the time the bodhrán rhythms kick off in earnest, every toe is tapping in anticipation.