Review​
✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5
​Aljaž & Janette star in
Remembering the Oscars
previewing today and until 17th April

Can you believe that there isn’t a category in the Oscar’s for best choreography? No, me either.  Just one surprising fact we discover during the Remembering the Oscars After Show interview.  The interview is, of course, with Strictly Come Dancing favourites, Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara, the husband and wife dance duo who helped to co-create this spectacular dance show which premieres today and will be available to stream until 17th April.

We also discover that Janette and her family are huge Disney fans and that Aljaž……well, I digress, because this is just one part of the Remembering the Oscars package available.  Audiences have the choice of purchasing the option to not only view the hour long show, but also a 50 minute interview with the pair, plus a fantastic opportunity to get a sneak peek Behind the Scenes.

​Covid and government lockdowns may have forced our wonderful theatres into darkness and subsequently many touring productions into being temporarily postponed, some permanently, but the Remembering producers weren’t going to let that stand in their way.  

The well oiled production team decided that the show could, and would go on and with a huge amount of planning, including choreography rehearsals over Zoom, they put together a dance spectacular worthy of an Oscar nomination in itself. This, after all is the same team who have put together Remembering Fred and Remembering the Movies tours which have proved to be hugely popular with fans in previous years.

Remembering the Oscars gives its armchair audience the usual spectacle and flare one anticipates from the Strictly Come Dancing couple and actually, there’s also a plus side to watching from the comfort of your home, as unlike any usual theatre experience it really doesn’t matter whether we’re in the front of the stalls or right at the back in the Gods because we all get the opportunity to get up close and personal, thanks to some stunning HD camera shots (watch the Behind the Scenes to find out more).  The evening is also interspersed with short chats from the couple introducing and talking about their favourite pieces.

Filmed at the Bournemouth International Centre, Janette and Aljaž, together with creative director and choreographer Gareth Walker, have clearly packed in some hard graft with their team over a crazily short rehearsal period and it is a credit to the talents and professionalism of the cast, production and technical team that they have created this delightful show in just 2 days.

With a cast of just eight dancers and two singers, Janette and Aljaž twirl their way through  musical theatre interpretations of some of the most iconic Oscar winning films including Funny Girl, Evita and The Godfather.  Romeo & Juliet and Scent of a Woman routines will have the ladies a quiver at Aljaž's smouldering moves. He really is a handsome brute and despite their height differences, they still blend so perfectly together. It’s hard to keep up as they relentlessly, tango, fox-trot and free style their way through the scores from award winning cinematic favourites. 

Red carpets, showbiz pizzazz aplenty, glittery costumes, scenery and backdrops all aid to create the spectacular Hollywood staging you would expect from an evening at the Oscars.  There are some beautiful set pieces, not least with a fabulous homage to some of the great film choreographers such as Gene Kelly and Bob Fosse, where the pair, together with the rest of the cast showcase a montage of routines from An American in Paris, Carousel, Singin’ in the Rain, La La Land, and All That Jazz.  This not only gives the supporting singers, Janine Johnson (who incidentally we interviewed back in 2017) and Giovanni Spanó an opportunity to showcase their fabulous voices but also gives us the added pleasure of getting to hear Janette’s sultry vocals in the All That Jazz number, which is a pleasant surprise - she did musical theatre when she was younger, you know?

There really is something for all the family and the Disney section has to be a favourite for everyone with The Lion King and Mary Poppins routines creating some wonderful visuals - the chimney sweeps leaping out of the chimney pots is a highlight.  This is the bit where Janette really gets to indulge in her Disney obsession and she is clearly in her element.

This streamed show is essentially a teaser for the 2 hour production that will, (once Covid Lockdowns permit), be touring theatres across the country in 2022.  The joy of seeing the production in this format, however, is that anyone anywhere in the world has access to it and is able to witness the wonderful dancing skills of this incredibly likeable couple. They genuinely appear to be very much in love and this seems to be celebrated in every dance step. They really are very cute.

Remembering the Oscars is not just a celebration of the Oscars but also a celebration of Aljaž and Janette and their complete love of dance. The pair radiate on the dance floor and their energy and passion is evident in every move; you can’t help but become swept away with their every step.  Indeed, if there were to be an Oscar for best choreography in a streamed show, these two talented performers would definitely be right up there in the nominations.

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All tickets come with a free digital 32-page programme packed with exclusive photos, interviews, Oscar trivia and much more. Options to upgrade include an after show pass  to an “In conversation with Aljaž & Janette”, and an exclusive 30 minute Behind-the-Scenes film, featuring additional footage with access to the dressing rooms, rehearsals & backstage of Remembering the Oscars.

For more information on the stream and how to purchase them plus ticket info for the 2022 Tour which will be visiting Southend in April 2022 click here