As its name suggests, Boogie Nights 2 is the sequel to Boogie Nights. Yes, really. This time it’s a formulaic song and dance romp through the dire 80s scene. Following the standard pattern of the crop of music-of-the-decade nostalgia musicals, it brings a review of the 80s musical and social scene, a string of slickly and not so slickly choreographed dance numbers, and a star name to remind us of the musical poverty of the era.

But, hey, let’s go with the positives. The plot follows Roddy (thinly disguised Shane Ritchie), 80s wunderkind on the make, and his progress from decade victim to reformed hero. Following an accident, Roddy falls into a coma and meets his impossibly sexy guardian angel, St. Peter (David Essex), who takes him through a series of musically enhanced flashbacks of his 80s life; a trip through all the acts and omissions, finally offering him the option of returning to life to make amends (or, alternatively, joining his Elvis-impersonating father through the pearly gates).

David Essex is the star of this show. His part is relatively slender but his presence and distinctive, well-projected vocals and speaking voice carry the drama. Thirty years on from Rock On and Godspell he is still hopelessly charismatic, and his adoring army of fans were swooning and screaming in the aisles by the close.

The songs came and went as the cast rushed through the numbers. Starting with Tainted Love, we sped through All Night Long (melodious vocals from Joe Speare), Ghost Town, Karma Chameleon, Relax, Don’t You Want Me, Thriller, Material Girl and Sweet Dreams. Especially notable was Sophie Lawrence’s spirited I Will Survive, despite being periodically drowned out in the mix, and the medley in the final climatic scene when Roddy, with encouragement from his angel, chooses to return to life to raise his newborn son. This was an ambitious mix of Against All Odds, Every Breath You Take (both perfectly suited to David’s voice) and Total Eclipse of the Heart. A challenging combination but ultimately powerfully affecting.

There were interesting touches in the staging, notably Roddy’s dilemma in choosing whether to return to life presented as a ‘Family Fortunes’ game show chaired by St. Peter, and the cross-quizzing of warring couples in the ‘Mastermind’ chair. This was vital as the dancing and staging of the songs, although entertaining, was not strong enough to sustain the production alone. The vigorous dancing was not always watertight; however, the acrobatics were impressive. There were naff touches too - such as Roddy ascending to meet his maker from a coffin covered in a sheet that fell to ground to symbolize his ascent.

Needless to say, Roddy finally chooses life and, in case we missed this point, the cast wore ‘Choose Life’ T-shirts for the finale. Go to see this show if you want to be lightly entertained and the 80s nostalgia does it for you, but mostly if you want to feast your eyes on David Essex wearing white Darcy breeches and singing with control and authority in that unmistakable voice.

Kathryn Karakaya, 14 September 2004