Sadler's Wells seems a far more natural home for Fela! than the National. For although this corybantic show combines dance, theatre and music and enjoyed a sell-out run in SE1 last winter, its best moments are those of booty-shaking, hip-wiggling and pelvis-grinding glory.
A biography of the Nigerian political activist and musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the show starts during his final gig in the Shrine, a Lagos club. The audience is not only invited, though, it is expected to participate. "Leave your shy outside" demands the eponymous hero, as he tries to teach the audience to mimic the dancers on stage. Most of us simply shuffled while the dancers' bottoms quivered at speeds I thought were impossible.
Fela was the pioneer of Afrobeat, a mix of traditional drumming, jazz and funk, while the music - with the exception of a lyrically banal song about water - is a joy: loud, engaging and played brilliantly. And Sahr Ngaujah is extraordinary as Fela, oozing charisma and building a great rapport with the audience, while also revealing his self-aggrandising side.
The narrative falls short, however. We never learn much about Fela's political beliefs, while his presidential bid is dismissed in a sentence. Moreover, Fela's self-admiration seems to spill over into the show, elevating him to the status of hero without offering balance.
Fela! is so energetic that it would be hard not to leave the theatre smiling; it's just a shame that the story does not match up to the dancing.
Until August 28 (0844 412 4300, sadlerswells.com)
FELA!
Sadler's Wells
Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN
