The reviews are in for Stories: The Tap Dance Sensation, the French company RB Dance Company’s noir dance thriller, which opened its return season at the Peacock Theatre on Wednesday 14 October after a first London run there in 2024. Romain Rachline Borgeaud wrote, composed, choreographed and directed the piece, in which a young screen star, Icarus, falls under the control of his film director, told entirely through tap, jazz and urban dance. The critics are united on the energy of the ten dancers and the look of the show, and split on almost everything else: the story, the choreography and the amount of tap.
The verdict: nine reviews in for the return of RB Dance Company’s show to the Peacock, and they range widely. Eight critics give a rating: one five-star notice, four at four stars, one at three and two at two (The Stage and Lifted Leg), an average of 3.5 out of 5; Seeing Dance publishes no rating but is among the warmest. Almost everyone agrees on the stamina of the dancers, Thiméo Garin’s Icarus and Alex Hardellet’s lighting. Where they part company is over the plot, which several find muddled, and over how much tap the “tap dance sensation” actually delivers.
What are critics saying about STORIES: THE TAP DANCE SENSATION?
What’s Good To Do
Reviewer: Debbie Kingsland
Coming to her first tap show, Debbie Kingsland was spellbound by the energy of the choreography and by the way the props morph from one scene to the next. She calls it suitable for all ages, dance fans or not, and notes that the whole audience, from teenagers to pensioners, stood at the end. Her advice is to stay to the very last minute for the finale.
“…I have to say it was possibly one of the best hour and ten minutes I’ve spent at any show.”
The Spy in the Stalls
Reviewer: Giles Broadbent
Giles Broadbent enjoys an unashamedly flashy noir romp, with a dash of Les Mis and a sprinkle of Disney, and finds the relentless score the heart of it. He is not troubled that the plot fails to hold together, since another number arrives within minutes. Like several colleagues, though, he notes that the “tap sensation” offers only a thin scattering of tap among the jazz and urban styles.
“Stories is a phenomenon, its exuberance as meticulously engineered as it is irresistible.”
LondonTheatre1
Reviewer: Alan Fitter
Alan Fitter singles out the young lead, Thiméo Garin, as Icarus and admires the set of four staircases that becomes a newsroom, a nightclub, a prison and a hotel. The score, by Romain Rachline Borgeaud, drives the action, though he found its textures a little repetitive and the mood dark almost throughout. The 70 minutes, he says, fly by.
“…its combination of athletic dancing, inventive staging and stylish storytelling makes it an exhilarating and original piece of entertainment.”
The Reviews Hub
Reviewer: Sonny Waheed
Sonny Waheed finds the film-noir story of Icarus overly convoluted, with an ending that leaves more questions than answers, and warns that anyone drawn by the tap billing may feel short-changed. Garin is exceptional, but it is Federica Mugnai’s modular set and Alex Hardellet’s lighting that lift the production. The advice is to forget the story and go with the flow.
“Stories is a visual and aural delight, with some genuinely standout dance numbers.”
West End Best Friend
Reviewer: Chris Abbott
Chris Abbott finds the opening ensemble in unison exhilarating and calls Garin a dancer of remarkable stage presence. Narrative coherence is not the show’s strong point, he says, and tap fans will miss hearing the taps on their own; he was also disappointed that wide masking at the front of the stage hid the dancers’ feet from much of the audience.
“Enjoy it as a feast of dancing rather than being too concerned about the narrative, and the company have a great encore too.”
London Unattached
"A Young Actor’s Tale Told Through Vigorous Dance"
Reviewer: Teresa Guerreiro
Teresa Guerreiro admires the stamina of the ten-strong cast and calls Hardellet’s lighting the highlight of the evening, truly original and dazzling. The plot, she says, is flimsy, and the choreography samey after the first quarter of an hour, with the tapping drowned by the recorded score. Even so, at around 65 minutes, she concedes, the show knows when the audience has had enough.
“To me, the highlight of Stories was Alex Hardelett’s truly original and simply dazzling lighting design.”
Seeing Dance
Reviewer: Nicola Claire
Having given the show a rave on its first visit two years ago, Nicola Claire finds it even better this time, with ten multi-talented dancers commanding the stage at every step. She extends the praise to the whole technical team, from lighting and sound to costumes, hair and make-up, and urges readers to book before the run moves on to its UK tour.
“Stories isn’t just dance at its absolute best, it’s theatre its absolute best.”
Production photographs by Aline Gérard.
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Siobhan Murphy, two stars, "Loud and flashy"), whose review sits behind a registration wall, and Lifted Leg (two stars), whose review we could not open in full.
Elsewhere this week, the critics have also had their say on Baby at Brixton House and Tom at the Farm at the Barbican Theatre.
Stories: The Tap Dance Sensation runs at the Peacock Theatre until Saturday 31 October 2026, before a UK tour.
