I only watched the film for the first time about a year ago, so I was coming to this from a 2020s perspective. I was hoping for a refreshed, re-energised production - something bigger, better and more spectacular than the original.

It was the music and dancing that carried the show.

The choreography was excellent, and Joel Benjamin (Johnny Castle) and Ellie Ferguson (Penny Johnson) were outstanding dancers. They performed the iconic routines brilliantly, although I found their acting much less convincing. Charlie Vallowe was much stronger as Baby, embodying the character well and dancing beautifully.

There were some sweet and sensual moments between Johnny and Baby, along with some shirtless and trouserless appearances, which prompted plenty of enthusiastic whoops from the audience! It was amusing, although it did make me wonder how much of the audience was there for the Patrick Swayze fantasy as much as the show itself.

The live band was one of my highlights. They were on stage and very much part of the action, bringing real energy to the performance. With plenty of brass instruments and a mix of 1960s music, dance, cha-cha-cha, mambo and salsa, they created a fantastic atmosphere. The male vocalists were excellent too. My only disappointment was that the band frequently played alongside backing tracks. For me, if you're going to have a live band on stage, let them play - it felt like a missed opportunity.

Beyond the music and dancing, though, there wasn't much that stood out. The acting was generally weak, and the production itself wasn't particularly inventive. It felt more like an attempt to recreate the film on stage than to bring something new to it.

And I think that's why the show works for so many people: the original film does much of the heavy lifting. The audience already knows the characters, story, music and iconic moments, and that familiarity fills in some of the weaker aspects of the stage production.

This is particularly evident in the finale, when Johnny and Baby perform that dance. It received a huge round of applause and a standing ovation - although, let's be honest, what else would you expect?

Overall, this really wasn't for me. If you're a huge Dirty Dancing fan and want to relive the music, dancing and nostalgia, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. But I was hoping for something more imaginative and re-energised, and I felt the original film was doing too much of the work.

If you’d like to see the show, go to the Milton Keynes Theatre Box Office.