Stepping Out Review by Nina Jervis-Green

September 3, 2026

Thanks to Nina Jervis-Green from www.ninathewriter.com for this review.

Stepping Out was written (by Richard Harris, previously known for contributing episodes to TV shows like The Avengers) in 1984. Although the script has been updated for modern times, nothing betrays this show’s original era quite so much as the characters’ names: how many people are called Mavis in 2026?

The ‘Mavis’ in question here is Mavis Turner, who runs a weekly tap-dancing class in a stuffy church hall. Her students are all amateurs, and – hilariously – most aren’t very good. But there’s plenty of fun and laughter in every class, and beyond learning to dance, everyone has a different reason for coming. For the glamorous, put-upon stepmother Maxine (Carli Norris), the classes are “my one ray of sunshine in this very peculiar world.”

All is going swimmingly, until Mavis is asked to stage a tap performance for an upcoming charity show. Her students reluctantly agree to take part, but their laid-back classes swiftly become rigid rehearsal sessions that bring tension to the surface… to the point where it’s not certain if the group will perform at all.

Each character is played with genuine humanity, and with individual personality quirks that feel very real. So real, in fact, that at least one is likely to evoke someone you know. (“Vera really reminds me of your mum!” muttered a man in our row to his companion, as we shuffled out for the interval).

Mavis is played by the former Strictly pro Karen Hauer, with grace and kindness that radiate from the stage. Her solo balletic dance performances are absolutely stunning, and I felt privileged to watch them close up. Along with the boisterous, joke-a-minute Sylvia (Kerry Enright), Felicity Duncan got the lion’s share of the laughs as the group’s fearsome pianist, Mrs. Fraser, including a brilliant mime performance towards the end that reminded me of Julie Walters’ iconic ‘Two Soups’ sketch.

The students are played outstandingly well, in a way that makes you feel that these flawed yet fabulous people really are a team, and they really have been taking these fun tap classes together. The dialogue is warm, witty and sharp throughout, and every character feels whole, including newbie Vera (EastEnders’ Lucy Benjamin), the overdressed clean freak who speaks before she thinks, and Geoffrey (Ben Stock), the bumbling insurance analyst who is the group’s only man.

We also saw some heart-wrenchingly vulnerable performances from Laura Tyrer as the neurotic perfectionist Andy (whose name is “long for Anne”), and Devon Elise Johnson as the gentle, kind-hearted nurse, Lynne.

By the time we reached the (incredible) finale, there was a palpable sense of anticipation in the audience, as though we were all willing the group on together. That sense of togetherness felt fitting for a show that radiates with collective warmth and companionship, and I left the theatre feeling uplifted: that perhaps, doing something just for the fun of it matters way more than being the best.