You often hear the term "Upping your game" when it comes to entertainment, but Benidorm Palace are taking things to a whole new level this year.

The new show, called "EFEX" will debut on 24th April and will leave you speechless - literally!

Totally unique this year

Once again I had the privilege of attending rehearsals for the new show and was able to speak with David Moore - the Artistic and Creative Director. This year's show is going to be like none other - "totally unique, more modern and very technical" he told me. You will be delighted to hear that the Irish dance is back, however this time round there is a fusion of Spanish - but with a real twist! They have also gone Oriental - with some beautiful Japanese routines and stunning costumes but what makes this show extraordinary is the involvement of "The TwinsFX" , one of the leading companies operating in the field of theatrical visual effects and illusions.

The TwinsFX

"The TwinsFX" run by identical twins Paul and Gary - hence the name, have spent the last 6 months planning and developing the illusions. I sat down and spoke with Paul during rehearsals who said that this will be THE largest effects show in Europe and that some of routines will have their premier here on the stage of Benidorm Palace. He is here to train David Climent, who will be performing some of the dangerous and very technical illusions, rehearsing 6 hours per day The Twins have performed around the world for the last 15 years and worked on some show stopping projects including Dr Who Live, The War of the Worlds live tour, with all the major theatre, film & television companies and theme parks such as Alton Towers and Chessington.

Spectacular illusions

The sets for the illusions all came over on a 45ft lorry - some were even built in America and will stretch the boundaries to create exciting and innovative entertainment. It is not the first time that twins Paul and Gary have been involved with illusions at the Palace - how many of you remember that breath taking moment about 10 years ago when a helicopter appeared on the stage? Well The TwinsFX bought that to you so you can only begin to visualize what´s in store for you...

Britsh girls in dance troupe

Many of the illusions will be seamlessly integrated into the dance routines and the troupe are having to learn new and difficult techniques to support and complement the illusions. There is a fantastic military style LED number, with laser lightbulbs part of the outfit which will stun you. The troupe are made up of 18 ladies and 8 men - with several of the girls new recruits from the UK. At one point the majority of the dancers were East European but the Brits are now taking over that position. I spoke to the newbies, who had attended auditions in London and Manchester earlier in the year and were delighted to have been selected for this prestigious show and venue. All are trained dancers and for some their first job, so they in particular were very excited about being in Benidorm.

Hand made costumes

The costumes as always are truly a work of art - all hand made on the premises. With the size and weight of some of them it´s amazing that the girls can manage to move with such elegance - often balancing the plume of the headdress, complete with feathers and spanning so wide that the girls have to walk through the doors sideways!
From what I have sneaked it is certainly in a completely different league to previous years - you will be left in awe of "how did they do that" and want to go again and again... trust me! How they will top that next year ..... well there´s a challenge!