The High Notes column with Michael Mussell: Spotlight Theatre Bringing on Back the Goodtimes with summer show

For your sizzling summer showtime come down to the Spotlight Theatre where, for all of August and through September, it will be showing a musical masterpiece ‘Bringing on Back the Goodtimes’.

From Director Shania Withey: “From the swinging 60s to the feel-good 90s, we will be bringing on back the good times through songs, duets and sketches. Artists include: Queen, Sonny and Cher, Elvis Presley, The New Seekers, Bryan Adams, The Carpenters and many more.”

Starting with the titular song, drawing you in with a chorus of swaying hands that make you wish the Spotlight had room to dance, all the way through to the first sketch featuring a solo performer doing an amazingly brilliant representation of at-home aerobics, this piece is not just a replay of nostalgia, but driven by the hard work of its performers, musicians, costume design, and direction. To bring us back into the music we have an amazing song-and-dance performance of ‘Holding Out for a Hero’ which showcases some of the best dancing talent of the show.

And it gets better from there: As the solo performers mingle across the stage, and the musicians change between medleys and individual pieces, the colours will dazzle you until the lights finally spring back to life and you realise the first act is over. To top the first act, the second comes in swinging and never lets up.

The solo pieces return with a beautiful performance of ‘Shout’ followed by a sketch-lead dance and sing-along of ‘My Little Buttercup’.

Here, and during ‘It’s Raining Men’ we really see the costume design shine through, featuring a collage of different era-appropriate designs to showcase not just how much the times have changed, but how the cast is bringing on back the good times.

There’s a steady pattern of this serious-to-comedy based song list, featuring an outstanding performance of ‘Thriller’ where you can relive the MTV days of music videos as the cast become zombified, and Cameron Reen dazzles you with his perfect dance moves mimicking the pop legend himself.

All until we end where the Good Times arguably crescendo’d into a climax so great it still rocks the world.

A six-piece medley of Queen songs is performed by the entire cast, each song transitioning with incredible fluidity at the hands of the talented three-man band. Each song is vividly felt as the singing and dancing reach a fever pitch of enjoyment from both the crowd and performers.

The musicians start singing, and the last notes eventually hit; it was an outstanding performance. Overall, the show was a delight to watch, and has clearly been crafted by experienced hands in all regards.

It would be more than a shame to miss an opportunity to watch such a performance, and it certainly feels more like an experience to be part of the crowd. Tickets are on sale for £8/£12. The show begins every Thursday at 7:30pm all the way through to Thursday, September 29.