One of the best shows in town at the moment, in a blink and you will miss it tour, this show will leave you breathless with excited enjoyment and wishing there was more.
In some ways STOMP is sort of similar to the great Aussie show Tap Dogs, but STOMP was devised and developed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas in the UK. The phenomenon began with their ‘Bins’ in 1983 and has become a global hit. In this current version, the amazing cast of eight have industrial strength exuberant high octane energy and lead us on an exploration of rhythm. They are also fabulous percussionists and actors and have incredible very witty comic timing. There is no speech as such, just the universal fascination with rhythm and sound.
Are the cast a contemporary version of Shakespeare’s Mechanicals, waiting around for a rehearsal to begin? They are clad in very casual streetwear. There is hilarious interaction between the various characters. At a couple of points the cast seem quite bellicose, with their anger directed towards the audience. The lighting effects are amazing. The two level set is huge and heavy, like an outdoor tin shed with assorted props. (A lot of the props are brought on/off by the cast but also there are a huge amount fixed on stage).
For one section, some of the cast are in a harness and ‘fly’ while energetically playing the huge installation of various items in the top area. From a far smaller viewpoint the zippo lighter sequence deserves special mention – sheer magic.
There is no real plot or structure as such, rather a series of vignettes that explore the percussive use of ordinary everyday objects. Wonderful use is made of everything from a rolled newspaper to a frog chorus of various sizes of plastic pipes. There are hilarious visual gags (some a little naughty). Extraordinarily complicated rhythms are developed, some Flamenco in style, others reminiscent of Taikoz drumming. Sound is important: from the gurgle of a squishy plastic bag to hard metal pipes, ordinary everyday objects reveal the unexpected. Light and shade in sound and rhythm are varied, everything from a tiny click (fingers or a lighter) to pounding, throbbing, pulsating drums.
Those of us in the first few rows could see the dust swirling in the fast and furious broom sequences. One of the funniest sequences was the ‘reading the paper’ segment, which had the audience in hysterical tears of laughter. There is also a sequence with crashing, flapping shopping trolleys, and a fun sequence with paint tins of various sizes and sounds. Another sequence of note is the one with… are they inflatable life buoys? Yes, this production does include everything!
Towards the end, with the now famous silver dustbin lids, there is a whirling, knightly fight that is also in part choreographed like a glamorous fan dance. Magnificent ensemble work features throughout, including where a wonderful pole stamp rhythm sequence is developed into a toss and catch sequence straight out of a musical (think ‘Me Ol’ Bamboo’ from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for example). Audience interaction at particular points is encouraged, with clapping or stamping of certain rhythms led by the company.
An exuberant, joyous evening with something for everyone.
Stomp
Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas
Lighting design – Steve McNicholas
Technical supervisor and sound design – Mike Roberts
Tour Lighting – Paul Emery
Sound – Rebecca Richardson
Tech Stage Manager – Steven Draper
The Company: Phil Batchelor, Paul Bend, E Donisha Brown, Adam Buckley, Ivan Delaforce, Leilani Dibble, Asha Jennings-Grant, Michael Landis, Angus H Little, Cameron Newlin, Jeremy Price and Ian Vincent
Running time: 1 hour 40 mins (approx) no interval
Theatre Royal, Sydney
10 – 15 September
