Review: THE BOWIE SHOW at Hippodrome Golders Green

Stuart King 26 January, 2025, 21:48

In January 2016, we lost an icon, a creative visionary, a trailblazer. For many (myself included) David Bowie was an extraordinary human being, if not a Demi-God. In the years which have passed since the release of Blackstar prior to his death, it has been easy to conclude that the world has become somehow tarnished, diminished by his sad demise aged 69 and the sequence of tumultuous global events which have occupied the timeline since.

The Bowie Show

Aimed squarely at this legions of fans, THE BOWIE SHOW attempts to fill the chasm created by his death, through celebration of the man’s alter-egos and career phases via presentation of his milestone songs. The 5-piece onstage band members are supported by 3 singers — in order of Bowie-ness Greg Oliver, Elliot Rose, and Sian Crowe, who start with Space Oddity and journey through his catalogue of seminal works, supplemented by four huge screens relaying projections and montages amalgamated and inferred, from the various film projects and notable videos created during his decades-long career.

The visuals are further enhanced by a troupe of 8 dancers. Led by choreographer Sophie Quay, they are: Rebecca Cronin, Elisha Roselynn, Yanki Yau, Emma Hoult, Marcy Page and Jaden Wilkinson. As is so often the case in such productions however, there is a performer whose onstage charisma, sharpness (line and definition) pulls the eye whenever they appear and here, that individual is Frenchman Jordan Boury who electrifies those segments in which he dances, particularly Gene Genie which becomes the first song of the evening to truly traverse the footlights and engage the audience. Once the ice is broken however, everyone forgets that this is an homage to the great man and begins to relax and enjoy what is essentially a broadened tribute show. The gig atmosphere ensures a lot of whooping and hollering among certain audience members, but this in turn highlights the ambiguous and hybrid nature of the presentation.

Whilst not all songs necessarily earn their place in the running order, stand-out numbers for this reviewer included the aforementioned Gene Genie, Fame, Sound and Vision, and Absolute Beginners. Billed as a multi-visual voyage into the mind of the original rock ‘n’ roll alien, I caught THE BOWIE SHOW at Golden’s Green Hippodrome, prior to the production playing one night at each of the following venues: Nottingham Concert Hall, Buxton Opera House, Glasgow Pavilion, Bath Forum, Bournemouth Pavilion, De Montford Hall Leicester, Derngate Northampton, Lyric Shaftesbury Avenue London (10th Feb) and GLive Guildford.