Magic Mike Live – Review – ★★★★
Bring a towel and get ready for the most LOLs, jaw-dropping moments and fit lads you’ll see all year.
Cheers Mike!
Magic Mike Live | Hippodrome Casino | From £39
From the outset the atmosphere at Magic Mike Live is electric. A sea of womxn are ready for the titillation of Mike.
And Magic Mike Live didn’t disappoint. Despite COVID-19 restrictions the music was loud, the men were steamy hot and the audience was hyped to the max.
The skilled all-male performance troupe sizzle with dazzling array of dance, acrobatics and party tricks. It feels a world away from the 90s Chippendale style male revue blowing away the perma-tan to reveal a sensual underbelly. The talented troupe of masc boys next door are here reinvent your fantasies from Timberlake tap dancing to a chorus line of men in suits. They cavort, they sing, they interact – all with a cheeky irreverence and playful no holds barred male sexuality.
Alison Faulk and Luke Broadlick’s choreography feels so fresh so clean with Channing Tatum’s slightly hammy yet adorable ‘plot’. Sophie Linder-Lee is the hostess with the mostest – working the unruly crowd until they’re ready to explode. Standout performances included vocals from Ross Sands on Zayn Malik’s Pillow Talk and the ridiculously raunchy ‘Wet Dream’ aerial sequence with Manny Tsakanika & Hannah Cleeve.
The show feels very high end with lots of technical trickery, a cascading confetti of pink Unicorn dollars and aerial wizardry. The stage managers are the secret heroines of the show and have to wrangle those who don’t observe the no touch policy and make all the complex spectacular choreographed numbers look effortless.
On the slightly less magical side it would have been great to get more lap dance action but guess this was more difficult with the current COVID-19 restrictions at time of seeing the show. The enlightened strip show could go one step further and cast trans men, womxn and body positive bodies. This sexy show should be for all persuasions and men in the audience shouldn’t necessarily be in the minority particularly so close to Old Compton Street.
The bottomless Prosecco offer was a great idea but not really clear on entry, the show should keep this going to ensure a well lubricated audience. A cocktail in addition to this wasn’t necessary.
Magic Mike Live is the ultimate grrrls (and gay) night out.
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like free, cheap & offbeat London, especially: cabaret, art, theatre, pop-ups, eating out, quirky films, museums, day trips, social enterprise & much more.
