Review: Riverdance 30 - The New Generation, UK tour - Glasgow

Global dance phenomenon Riverdance is currently on a special 30th anniversary tour visiting 30 UK venues - one for each year of its history - during 2025. The tenth stop on the tour is my local, the King's Theatre in Glasgow, so I headed along to see this new generation of dancers and find out how the iconic production has evolved over the years. You can read my review below.

Riverdance 30: The New Generation ★★★★☆

Review: 13 October 2025 | King's Theatre, Glasgow

Riverdance 30 is a refresh of the original, much-loved Irish dance spectacular Riverdance. What started as a seven-minute interval act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest has since become a global theatrical phenomenon. Now with beautiful modern costumes (Joan Bergin), updated choreography, innovative video projections and lighting, this Riverdance effortlessly blends the traditional with the contemporary.

To mark the thirtieth anniversary of Riverdance, Riverdance 30: The New Generation is touring to 30 venues across the UK in 2025. And remarkably, none of the Irish dance performers were born when the show first began 30 years ago.

Leading the show on opening night in Glasgow, principal dancers (brother and sister duo) Fergus and Anna Mai Fitzpatrick lit up their stage with their world-class dancing and assured stage presence. Fergus steps into Michael Flatley's leading man shoes effortlessly, while Anna Mai dazzles with impossible lightness and grace.

The entire new generation company for Riverdance 30 is full of 'All-Ireland' and world champion dancers, and the impressive speed and accuracy of their remarkable footwork is mindblowing. Riverdance was revolutionary at its inception for modernising Irish dance, and for freeing the dancers from the confines of straight arms and curly wigs. This ethos and Michael Flatley's original Irish dance step choreography still shines through, although the young performers bring a freshness and vitality to every routine.

Riverdance 30 is a full two-hour long theatre production and the headline Irish dancers are joined on stage by an ensemble of international dancers and musicians. From Latin and flamenco inspired routines starring the brilliant Rocio Dusmet, to an Eastern European Dervish, and American tap, the dance styles and musical influences are varied, but the performers and the choreography are always exceptional. The excellent musicians too have their moments in the spotlight with fiddle player Haley Richardson and Musical Director / drummer Mark Alfred clear favourites with the crowd.

However Bill Whelan's Grammy award-winning Riverdance score and the extraordinary Irish dancers are the main draw of the show. Act one routine 'Thunderstorm' performed by the male dancers with no backing music, just the beats of their shoes and the power of their performance filling the auditorium, is one of the highlights of the evening (second only to the Riverdance itself.)

Director John McColgan's expert hand means the programme of mixed scenes moves along at pace, with slick, super-fast transitions between each number impressive and appreciated. The superb video design, lighting and graphics are a welcome enhancement to the show; greatly improving the stage design and adding atmosphere, but never detracting from the dancers themselves.

There is a valiant attempt at a narrative thread - a storyline of sorts with a callback to Irish ancestors, myths and legends, and the dislocation of Irish immigrants across the seas to the new world after fleeing the famine. But this narrative does feels overstretched at times and, depending on your stance, there is either a lot of filler or a lot of variety in between the star attraction of the Irish dance company themselves.

Riverdance 30 is an uplifting, spellbinding display of international music and world-class dance. This anniversary production is a gorgeous refresh of an unforgettable moment in dance history, and with a superb new generation of dancers burning up the stage, it's a show I could see, and will see, time and time again. ★★★★☆

Riverdance 30: The New Generation plays at Glasgow King's Theatre until FRIDAY 17 October 2025 and then continues on it's anniversary tour across the UK in 2025, and in 67 cities across the USA in 2026.

Buy tickets for the UK tour via ATG Tickets here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/riverdance-30-the-new-generation/

Find the full UK dates and venues listing here: https://riverdance.com/tours/u-k/

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John McColgan, Director of Riverdance said:

“It is both a privilege and a delight to celebrate 30 years of Riverdance and the unique journey it has taken us on. In those 30 years the show has transformed from a spectacle into a global cultural phenomenon – continuously evolving yet remaining true to its Irish roots. On this upcoming tour we look forward to welcoming ‘The New Generation’ of artists while paying tribute to the talented performers, creators, dedicated crew, and the millions of fans who have made Riverdance a worldwide celebration of music and dance.”