Review: Bristol Hippodrome's 'Riverdance 30: The New Generation' is the best show I've seen all year
Riverdance has been delighting audiences for 30 years, and it is still as spectacular now as it was when it started.
Riverdance 30: The New Generation at Bristol Hippodrome is sold out, and within minutes of watching, it becomes abundantly clear why that is.
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The tap dancing is absolutely incredible, and it’s that, coupled with the amazing instrumentalists, music, and graphics, that takes you on an emotional Irish journey.
But the show is also full of unexpected elements: I love the journey from stormy seas to nighttime in Brooklyn and the different cultures the show taps into.
By the end of the first half, some audience members were already giving it a standing ovation, which is not something I think I’ve seen halfway through before but it truly deserves it.
The show’s famous piece, Riverdance, is as inspiring as ever, and it’s this, along with the show’s other highlights, that make it such an enjoyable watch.
The vocals during The Heart’s Cry are so sweet and angelic, for example, that it almost brings a tear to your eye.
I also love how the drummer is near the centre of the action and adds so much vibrancy to the performances from his role.
You can tell that all the dancers get great pleasure from performing together, which makes it even more enjoyable for the audience.
There is a great gravitas while watching the show, strengthened by the dramatic voice-over narration and the build-up at the beginning, looking back at 30 years of Riverdance.
The show’s ‘New Generation’ of performances have certainly taken Riverdance up a notch. The whole production is rejuvenated with new innovative choreography, costumes, and state-of-the-art lighting, projection, and motion graphics.
But through it all is still the much-loved story audiences have adored over the last three decades. It’s all of this together that has made it the best show I have watched at Bristol Hippodrome all year.
Riverdance 30: The New Generation is showing at Bristol Hippodrome until Friday, November 28 and is sold out. For tickets to other shows visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/bristol-hippodrome/.