West End Bares – Top Off the Pops – Shaftesbury Theatre

West End Bares – Top Off The Pops at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

After six years at the Café de Paris and two memorable years at the Novello Theatre, West End Bares moved to a yet bigger house, the Shaftesbury Theatre, home of the Broadway musical Motown for the past three years, so definitely a fitting venue for this year’s production, aptly titled Top Off The Pops.

After Broadway Bares went Rock Hard in 2014, it was London’s turn to pump up the volume, taking all tops, socks and jocks off for the occasion and raising funds as always for MAD Trust. Featuring the sexiest songs from the most iconic musicians of the past century – namely (by order of appearance) the Beatles, Kylie Minogue, Prince, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Queen, David Bowie, Madonna, Oasis, Whitney Houston, and for the finale England’s own Take That – this new edition hardly had a dull moment.

A brand new anthem justly titled ‘Feel Yourself’, written by Luke Di Somma and Mark Anderson and impeccably choreographed by artistic director David Grewcock, and a Beatles medley, inventively choreographed by Chris Whittaker, started the show off with a bang.

The middle part of the programme seemed slightly more repetitive, but how many ways can you find to undress while dancing, however spectacular the dancers and the choreography? Maybe, it was just too much of a good thing!

But rising West End director and choreographer Racky Plews put the fire back into proceedings with her number to Aerosmith, as did Aston Newman Hannington with her provocative version of Madonna’s ‘Vogue’.

The absolute artistic and emotional highlight, however, was the highly erotic male pas de deux from Oasis as choreographed by Adam Scott. The spectacular finale, choreographed by Tommy Wade-Smith, to ‘I’m Every Woman’ and the encore to Take That naturally led to the legendary rotation with the dancers collecting MAD and real money among the audience to fight HIV and AIDS, among other causes, in their minimalist outfits.

One hundred and twenty-eight incredible performers took part in Top Off the Pops, with make-up and hair styled by 27 specialists, accompanied by four gifted also bare musicians.

Yet the numerous choreographers and the talented dancers for whom their work was tailor-made were the real stars of this so eagerly-awaited special annual event. We bet the 10th edition next year is something to look forward to . . .

Patrick Honoré