King's Theatre

This obviously isn't a review of the theatre, rather a show which is touring and stopped in at the King's.

Havana Rakatan is described as:
"Bringing all the heat of a Cuban summer to Glasgow. From the sexy, spontaneous rumba to the slick footwork of the cha-cha-cha, this is a show that’s guaranteed to get heads nodding and feet tapping.
Founded in Havana in 2001, Ballet Rakatan is regarded as one of the most talented and versatile groups of dancers to emerge from Cuba in many years. Jazz, mambo, bolero, son, cha-chacha, rumba and salsa all come alive in dazzling dance routines that display all the unrivalled passion at the heart of Cuba.
Featuring one of Cuba’s most popular bands - Turquino - live on stage, this is a captivating and colourful journey through the dance and music of a truly unique country."

It was certainly very vibrant, very musical, and full of impressive dancers who were putting their all into the performances. The artists were all very attractive men and woman, rippling muscles when the chaps stripped off their shirts and shimmied around the stage in grass skirts. But it was too manic for me, and I found it hard to follow - and I KNOW it's cuban, so they don't speak English, but if you hadn't bought a programme (as we didn't) it was very confusing. The dances tell stories, one that we figured out was about a courtship, the rest we weren't sure. Obviously we didn't object to the singing in Cuban, but when the cast were talking to each other, it would have been helpful had that been in English, not just explaining the Mani were Cuban peanuts, and that one of the male dancers was too short for the lead dancer!

It wasn't helped by the fact I was absolutely exhausted, the girls sitting beside me were talking the whole way through and the person behind me kicked my seat non-stop. But we weren't the only people who left...a couple were walking down the street ahead of us clutching a programme, got into a car and drove off, and we could see others heading for nearby restaurants. I heard a man plead with his wife to go home, but she scolded him and sent him to get her a G&T!

It was a very impressive show, but not my cup of tea.