With Better Than The 90s, we sought to fill a gap in the market and create an original and unique 90s themed theatre production to tour throughout the UK.
Our aim was to create a visual and musical spectacular to provide a fun, nostalgic journey that would take audiences back to the 1990s. It was important for the production to include the right artists, visuals, and story-line to provide spectators with a fantastic night of entertainment and present a show that would be popular with theatre audiences.
To be successful, the production required an experienced and credible show leader. We needed to find someone reputable and knowledgeable to maintain authenticity and attract audiences.
It was very important for the show to be genuine and unique. It needed to be unlike a typical 90s club night – we wanted to offer audiences something that they couldn’t find anywhere else – something refreshing, new, and unique. With captivating visuals and an entertaining story-line, we also needed a brilliant cast to perform a show that was fluid and not segmented, and follow a full narrative.
We also required high quality promotional materials with posters, flyers, and teaser videos to generate interest, excitement, and anticipation in the build up to the show’s debut and tour.
We contacted Paul Spencer, also known by his stage name Dario G. With many years of experience in the music industry, particularly in the 1990s, Paul was perfect to advise on the successes and shortcomings of 90s themed events, club nights, and productions. He provided us with a unique perspective on creating, hosting, and performing in 90s themed events which provided us with a well-informed insight into how to make Better Than The 90s a unique and popular experience.
With this solid foundation established to build upon, we looked to creating the body of the show: the story, the cast, and the visuals. We wanted the show to offer more than a DJ and Star Name appearances, such as in a 90s nightclub experience – the production needed to deliver a more theatrical, immersive 90s experience. To achieve this, we created an impressive full stage line-up with musical numbers, an exciting and relatable story-line, and additional dancers in order to have as much choreography as possible throughout the length of the show.
On the marketing side, we spent time redesigning poster concepts to create the perfect promotional materials. The final designs for our digital and print promotions were made live, and an upbeat exciting video advert was released online.
Paul was a natural director, using his vast experience and industry connections to create a unique, nostalgic, and wonderful show!
The story-line centres around a group of girls getting ready to go to a 90s night out, captivating an audience musically and narratively. Our next stage was to cast fantastic character actors to perform in iconic roles from 1990s TV and film. These character appearances connected different sections of the show and contribute to the story-line, ensuring that the production coalesced.
Paul enlisted brilliant talents from the 1990s. These included Kelly Llorena, lead vocalist from the 90s dance group N-Trance whose 1995 #2 hit ‘Set You Free’ remains a club classic. The fantastic electronic music artist Rozalla, behind the 1991 hit single ‘Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)’ also makes a feature appearance in Better Than The 90s. A special surprise guest, kept secret for impact, also appears!
The dance troupe with our additional dancers, brilliant full length choreography, and fantastic costuming added extra flair and dazzling visuals to the show.
Our final stage of production was to create the show visuals. We used a video screen packed with 90s visuals and graphics, a huge Better Than The 90s backdrop, sparkling special effects, and fantastic lighting and sound run by a wonderful talented team of engineers.
After many, many months of planning, reworking, designing, and rehearsing Better Than The 90s, the show premiered at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham on the 20th July 2022 to an excited crowd that spent the majority of their night on their feet – dancing, singing, whooping, and hollering!
We received fantastic feedback from audiences, and we look forward to our next Better Than The 90s performance at Dudley Town Hall on Friday 30th September – and many more successful shows across the UK!
‘Wonderful show, impressive dancers, and an ideal collection of 90s music! Kevin and Perry were fabulous, and Hyacinth Bucket was a real hoot! We had a great time and noticed the audience were abuzz leaving the theatre. I’d see the show again without hesitation!’
‘We had the most amazing night! 100% need to do this again!’
‘Fabulous night! Loved every minute of it. When’s the next show?!’
‘An amazing debut!’
