Thriller- Live

With Michael Jackson about to announce a new series of concerts at the 02 Arena in London, there’s really never been a better time to re-acquaint yourself with the King of Pop; this show provides such an opportunity.

Thriller is moonwalking into the Lyric Theatre on the West End after three smash-hit UK tours and a European experience which led to many standing ovations. A supremely talented cast and live band, backed up by award-winning, breathtaking choreography that, if it can’t quite match up to Jackson himself can come very close, and a dazzling array of multimedia screens and clips which mean that you can immerse yourself fully in the Jackson experience.

Of course, some people would ask why pay anything up to around £53 to see other people sing Jackson songs when you could save your money and wait to see the real deal himself. Well, fair enough but firstly tickets to see the real Jackson are likely to cost a whole lot more and secondly, the show does work well. A cast of people such as Ricko Baird and Denise Pearson do the songs justice and it offers a great retrospective of Jackson’s career, with younger cast members providing insights and hits from the Jackson 5 days.

In many ways Thriller is just a different way of taking on a retrospective musical; it goes down a different road to the one chosen by Mamma Mia or We Will Rock You. Rather than fitting the songs into an artificial storyline, the songs are allowed to stand on their own; which they are more than capable of doing. ‘Thriller’ ‘Billie Jean’ ‘Earth Song’ and ‘Beat it’ all make an appearance and, for any fan of Jackson, this is probably a show you’ve been waiting a long time to see. If you’ve not yet got into the groove of the Jackson 5 or Michael’s solo work then perhaps this could be the show that converts you to the King.

Lovers of scandal may be disappointed to learn that the show is not necessarily autobiographical, that it deals much more with Jackson’s work than it does his personal demons and the darker side to his life which has been played out through the press in recent years. But, that aside, Thriller offers the chance for any Jackson fan to remember why they liked him in the first place. For the music.

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