Starlight Express

All who came aboard the Starlight Express at the Brighton Centre were in for a treat… not only did we all experience the wonders of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s genius, but it felt like we were all kids again and wanted to play with trains in order to create a magical world and journey of our own.

Surprisingly Starlight Express’ world premiere in 1984 in London was expected to be short-lived. No one could have predicted however that this stunning musical was to be the longest running show in the West End – and despite many re-workings to update it, it still has that wondrous childlike magic about it which entranced the audience in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time.

The staging and lighting were exciting to watch and all the musical numbers and characters immediately grabbed our attention from the start – especially with the whole show being done on skates to represent the trains, trucks and coaches. Arlene Phillips’ intricate direction and choreography made us forget they were human and drew us into the dangerous world of train racing to be the best engine ever, with unexpected consequences…

All of the songs were incredible, but highlights included ‘AC/DC’ sung by electric engine Electra (played brilliantly by Mykal Rand), ‘Rolling Stock’, Dusty (Kristofer Harding) and sweetheart Pearl’s (Amanda Coutts) duet ‘I Do’ and the popular number ‘Light At The End Of The Tunnel’.

Starlight Express was fantastic and no one wanted the magic to stop. Highly recommended!

Brighton Centre, 3 January 2013

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