Director and Choreographer: Michael Flatley
Composer: Gerard Fahy
This year marks 30 years of Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance, probably the most famous Irish Dancing showcase in the world (aside from Flatley’s other powerhouse, Riverdance). Little Spirit dreams a classic tale of good vs evil, where the eponymous Lord of the Dance must fight The Dark Lord and his army, while navigating a tempestuous love triangle with Morrighan the Temptress and his true love Saoirse. It’s a magical story, told purely through music, song and toe tapping choreography (literally!).
The show is a guaranteed spectacle for both those immersed in the dance form and those completely new to it. Flatley is to Irish Dance what Matthew Bourne is to ballet – a man who reimagined a traditional art form and unleashed it on the masses. And for the anniversary tour Lord of the Dance has been innovating and changing still more, with the use of video technologies and specialist lighting effects, new and reimagined music from composer Gerard Fahy, and adapted choreography from Flatley himself, plus an updated look for the costumes by Niamh Flatley. Sadly, a lot of these updates fall short. Fahy’s music is still fantastic and could easily stand alone with none of the frippery, so delightful is it to listen to. The new look costumes are bold and perfect for the TikTok generation but look like they would be better suited to a production of High School Musical. This gives the show a ‘prom court fighting with the biker kids’ feel which means it has lost the fantastical elements that backed up the Celtic mythology inspired story (and when those elements do return, they look out of place). The use of the video backgrounds is more akin to an arena tour and allows for rapid transitions and interesting interplay with the story, but the overly bright animations often dominate the stage in a distracting way. Flatley’s choreography seems to favour the principal dancers stalking or striding around the stage rather than actually dancing, and that is the most heinous thing of all. The astonishingly fast taps and shuffles are still present, but they feel like sudden bursts for nostalgias sake, rather than proof the leads are worthy of the title of Lord of the Dance.
All of this could be saved by the cast, but the performance on this night felt phoned in from all but Morrighan (Olivia Allen, who looks excited to be there and was always in character) and Little Spirit (who was a joyous explosion of cheeky energy, but who your reviewer cannot credit due to the lack of a full cast list – this review will be updated if this information is provided). The titular Lord of the Dance (Lucas Lawton) spent the entire show looking smug and failing to sell any hit he took in the fight scenes, which removed any sympathy he might have gained. His dancing was a technical masterclass, but his characterisation was non-existent. Same for Saoirse (Katie Coates) who just felt like a vapid Barbie doll pageant queen. The Dark Lord (Tom Doherty) is an excellent showman, but felt to have little to do, and his army looked awkward and ungainly rather than menacing. Saoirse’s maidens were often out of sync and sloppy too. The chorus are normally the best part of the show, but tonight they were severely lacking.
The Razzie of the night must however be given to Flatley himself. He retired from performing in 2016 due to a combination of factors, and it was a good decision which saw him go out on a high. So why does Lord of the Dance still start with a clip show of him, feature a dance along with a recording of the original cast, and trap the audience with a tedious five-minute projection of Flatley competing with two more versions of himself between the finale and the bows? A projection that is as least 5 years old, since it also featured in the 25th anniversary show too. It kills the momentum and screams of a man who cannot let go and let the younger cast members have their moment. It’s no wonder the show looks tired even with the new updates – it’s haunted by its glory years in twenty-foot-tall Technicolor.
Your reviewer is a long-time fan of Lord of the Dance, having seen it multiple times across the decades. While it remains one of those shows that bottled lightening and is still a spectacle worth seeing despite this performance’s issues, the 30th anniversary tour is the first time the innovations seem grasping rather than revolutionary. Maybe it’s time to let the Lord rest and create something new which will stand on its own tappable feet, rather than keep trading on the name and Flatley’s face.
Runs until 23 August 2026