Uprated STOMP back in Cape Town
From a single drum, hanging around Luke Cresswell's neck back in 1991, STOMP has taken on a life of its own. In much the same way that rubber hosing, Zippo lighters, plastic bags, bin lids and, yes, even the kitchen sink do, in this multi-award-winning theatrical phenomenon.
Now, after six years in the West End, STOMP unveils a revamped show, inspired by its large-scale Las Vegas version, STOMP OUT LOUD. New music and choreography join a fresh array of ordinarily mundane objects, onto which the cast work their musical magic. Huge, ribbed tubes, previously used for recycling fluorescent lights, are themselves recycled into outsized Guiros, a Latin American percussion instrument, played by scraping the ridged sides with a stick.
Surround sound redefined
In one of two spectacular new routines, paint cans are tossed between the performers, as they simultaneously build an astonishingly complex rhythm over every surface of the airborne cans. With the emphasis very much on “spectacular”, the Stompers are also joined by inflated monster truck inner tubes, here strapped around their waists to create both a dance of bobbing, whirling rubber skirts and pounding, portable drum kits: the ultimate redefinition of “surround sound”.
Still remaining is STOMP'S signature high-octane meeting of slick choreography, tight ensemble work, industrial percussion and a narrative of anarchic clowning; as the troupe of eight turn brooms into soft shoe partners, clapping into intricate conversations and water cooler bottles into sophisticated instruments. A row of folding chairs are straddled, slid, slammed and slapped into rhythmic submission. It is at once primal and urbane, leaving no percussive potential - of object, body or action - unexploited. And all underpinned by a childish delight in making serious noise.
The Cape Town season runs from 14 to 25 April 201 from Tuesdays to Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm and Sundays at 2pm and 5.30pm. Tickets cost from R75 to R295 via Computicket or +27 (0)21 421 7695.
