The BBC took a gamble earlier this year with their Saturday night prime time show Strictly Come Dancing. Ballroom dancing? On Saturday night? In 2004? What were they thinking? Surely ballroom dancing is old hat, and has no place in 21st century living. Well, I loved the show: it was refreshing, and a joy to see this fantastic way to dance. Ten years of dancing in nightclubs to house music suddenly seems a waste of time. With this in mind, it was my pleasure to see Ballroom at the Oxford Playhouse. It is simply brilliant: a magic mix of wonderful choreography, excellent acting, and a lovely plot.

The action takes place during an afternoon tea dance somewhere in an English south coast town. Four characters are on stage, two men and two women, all in their sixties or seventies. Through the play, they narrate their own stories, and how they came to be there. Each of them has lost their wife or husband, and after a period of grieving, are trying to move onwards. With their partners, ballroom dancing had always been a part of their lives, and they are all reluctant and a little scared to be here at this tea-dance.

Ballroom dancing is core to their tales, and central to the action on stage. Each anecdote that reveals an important moment in the character's relationship with their partner revolves around a dance. As the narrator tells the story, a pair of younger dancers play out the dance on the stage. The effect is amazing: the dancing is simply superb, and creates a nostalgic, reminiscent feeling. The emotion in the telling of the story is strongly felt, and the dancing reflects this. The characters themselves also dance around, taking over the dance, skipping here, moving there. It all appears so simple and natural, a story being told extremely simply, the words being matched just right with the dancing. This simplicity is one of the great things about the play; it all seems so simple, but if you actually think about what's going on, you've got a great story being told, great dancing and movement, and it all knits together seamlessly, nothing seems contrived or forced. Everything in Ballroom appears effortlessly convincing.

Each story is tinged with sadness. This play is about coming to terms with aging, losing loved ones, and moving on from that loss. Along the way, the audience are treated to some great humour, and some touching moments. It's never hysterically funny, or deeply upsetting, but it's not meant to be - this is a gentle, thought-provoking play. It left me feeling a lot more empathy for people older than me, and raised issues about moving on and getting old in a way I have never had to think about before.

Eventually, the characters work up enough courage to ask each other to dance, and in the second half, the way the characters shake off the grief and meet their new dancing partners is dealt with very entertainingly.

And the dancing? It's absolutely amazing. There is the dancing as the characters tell their story, and whether it's the main actors, or their younger representatives, the dances are always delightfully choreographed. On top of this, there are several dancing interludes that really have nothing to do with the plot, but this is simply not an issue. It doesn't feel like we're at a dance show, but these dances fit the mood perfectly. Ballroom is a warm and comforting play, a happy reflection on loss, and a great evening's entertainment.

Andy Cotgreave, 12.08.04