IPSWICH THINGS TO DO

Footloose

The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich

Information - Footloose

Everybody cut loose! We are celebrating 40 years of Footloose with our exciting new stage production!

“A time to laugh… and a time to weep. A time to mourn… and there is a time to dance”

The New Wolsey Theatre is heading back to the 1980s this Autumn to stage a spectacular new production of the explosive musical Footloose.

When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, he is prepared for the inevitable adjustment to starting at a new high school, but he’s not prepared for the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing.

This heartfelt story pits a father longing for the son he lost against a young man aching for the father who walked out on him. To the rockin’ rhythm of its Oscar and Tony-nominated Top Forty score, elevated with dynamic new songs, Footloose celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people while guiding them with a warm heart and an open mind.

Based on the hit 1980s film, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, and directed by the New Wolsey Theatre’s Chief Executive/Artistic Director Douglas Rintoul (Made in Dagenham (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and New Wolsey Theatre), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole The Musical (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), Footloose will première at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 31 May until 26 September and then transfer to the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich from 3-26 October. (Check event website for timings – some days have matinee performances)

Footloose first burst into life in the 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon and was one of that year’s most successful motion pictures. The film’s soundtrack reached Number 1 on the Billboard charts and went on to sell over 17 million copies worldwide, generating hits including its title song and Let’s Hear It for the Boy (both of which received Academy Award nominations), plus Almost Paradise, Holding Out for A Hero by Bonnie Tyler, and I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man).