Flatley is Lard of the Dance

Pies have got the better of Michael Flatley. Even if his oiled chest and leather trousers were never your cup of tea, the Irish quickstepper always looked like a dancer and moved like a dancer, and his shows were so full of theatrical energy you didn't much mind the bluff and bluster.

But that was back in his Lord Of The Dance days. Eight years since he bowed out in that role, Flatley looks bulky and stiff, with nowhere near the old speed and barely half the stamina. He's also got frosted highlights, a perma-tan and a gladiator costume which just looks silly.

Celtic Tiger is his new "dance spectacular", and it draws on the indomitable spirit of the Irish, through famine and oppression, and onto the hopes and dreams of America.

It's essentially a series of brightly costumed dance numbers (cheerleaders, gangsters, vikings), with Flatley, 47, at his best on the bigscale, Irish dance show-stoppers.

The rest he does less well, with lame flamenco and hip-hop routines, and a dreadful ballet. There are also women wafting around as butterflies and bees, for which I can think of no explanation.

It's as if the mature Flatley can't fill the stage with anything as watchable as his younger self. It's the dancer's dilemma.

Wednesday 26 April. Information 0870 400 0688.

Michael Flatley: Celtic Tiger