IT was Saturday Night Fever on a wet and windy Tuesday night at the Princess Theatre in Torquay.

Framed in the winter night sky, the theatre was lit up in neon pinks and blues setting the scene for a night to celebrate the dawn of disco.

Set in 1970s Brooklyn, New York, the show remembers the golden era of disco and focuses on the story, made popular by the film starring John Travolta, of Tony Manero, a young man who works as a paint store clerk, with a drunk for a father and a priest for a brother, who is popular on the dance floor with the ladies and is convinced by his peers to enter a contest at the 2001 Odyssey Disco, where the prize is $1,000.

To have a chance of winning, Tony convinces the talented Stephanie, played by the incredible Rebekah Bryant, to be his partner.

The narrative plays out with Tony, played by the hip shakingly smooth and ripped I should add, Jack Wilcox, training for the biggest night of his life while dealing with social tensions and disillusionment among his close friends and family.

I must give a special mention to Harry Goodson-Bevan, who only graduated this year from Mountview Theatre and who marked his professional debut, playing the character Bobbie C.

His performance was extremely convincing, portraying the tragedy and emotion of his character incredibly well.

It was a show of two halves, with the first a crazy plethora of classic dance floor vibes, with big collars, flares, flowery dresses, tight tops, blindingly shiny disco balls which sent light cascading around the theatre really setting the mood of the era, before the second half added a more somber, gritty, yet poignant realism of issues that are still faced today.

Spurred along by the magnificent soundtrack of The Bee Gees, with classics such as Staying Alive, Tragedy, Night Fever, Jive Talkin and the title track Saturday Night Fever, the cast threw themselves into an extravaganza of hip shaking, finger pointing, toe tapping entertainment with the tracks performed admirably by their doppelgängers, AJ Jenks, Drew Ferry and Oliver Thomson who received the largest cheer, with the audience all on their feet dancing by the end of the evening.

It really was a wild mix of comedy, dancing and clever storytelling and if Disco is not really your thing? It wasn’t mine either, but I will admit to thoroughly enjoying the show and pretty much toe tapping the whole way through, although I did incur a few bruises from my wife’s finger dancing next to me and I’ve also finally realised where my dancing era shoes lie.

Get your glad rags on as Saturday Night Fever runs until Saturday, November 19, at the Princess Theatre.