Recently I went to go and see ‘Ain’t Misbehavin” at The Mercury Theatre in Colchester! This was a ‘Made in Colchester’ production, so as always with these shows there was a very good crowd and a lot of audience members which is always nice to see.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a jazz and swing show, with various shows from the jazz era of music, with a lot of singing and dancing throughout. If your a big fan of this type of music then you’re going to feel right at home here. There was a lovely use of lighting and colour with the major colour without the whole show being gold. The colours of the costumes really stood out which was great so then I could follow where each cast member was at certain points of the show.
There was little story during the whole show, it had more of a concert feel, then an actually musical which for me was a little disappointing, as I tend to like a good balance of story and music. During the first half, I really struggled to follow and understand what was going on. The second half was much more enjoyable, as the songs were more upbeat, fun and there was more humor in some, which was a very much welcome change. The singing from all the cast was very good. Carly Mercedes Dyer particularly stood out for me. her vocal range was great and good use of volume.
To sum up, if you are a big fan of jazz music and that era of history, then you will love this show, and it is a good night out! But if your not a huge fan of this time of music, then I would maybe give this one a pass and look forward to see what the ‘Made in Colchester’ come up with next. As all ‘Made in Colchester’ are always good fun and enjoyable!
People With A Visual Impairment: There is a good use of lighting colour and great costumes so you will have no problem with this show at all. I don’t think there is a certain seat or row I would recommend here, but if you get a seat right a the back, then you might struggle.
People With No Vision: All of the show is singing and dancing, so as a result, the show is completely visual. But having said that, your not really missing much other than dancing, which is of good quality. But I feel doesn’t really add to the story. There is an Audio Description performance available along with a touch tour.
The VI Critic 