A giant golden statue of the goddess Aphrodite lies recumbent on the stage. The action of Sam Smith’s gig plays out atop, along and in front of her body; musicians nestle in her nooks, dancers dry hump her curves. The suggestion seems to be that we are all her creatures – inspired by beauty, buffeted by desire, perpetually seeking love.
Although a Greek deity is the show’s organising principle – its three chapters are labelled Love, Beauty and Sex – you wouldn’t necessarily call all the antics that unfold over the next couple of hours classic, exactly. So much about this Gloria tour, in support of Smith’s recent album of the same name, is gaudy, over the top and maximalist – as you would expect from an arena-level undertaking – not to mention playful, knowing and redolent of Spinal Tap’s taste for set design. For Gloria, Smith has sloughed off their middle-of-the-road image in favour of something more liberated – and sexualised.
