Call to mind a stomp and you might imagine a lively dance to a distinctive heavy beat or you might picture yourself and some chums having a rare old time. Stomp delivers on all fronts save that in a theatre and with a high wiggle factor, one isn’t able to get up and ‘shake yer booty’.
Where Duchamp’s ‘readymades’ conferred ‘art’ status on everyday objects the Stomp cast confer ‘musical instrument’ status on stuff you might find lying around in a scrap-yard or junk shop and even, children, in mummy’s kitchen. Like Verity Standen’s, Mmm Hmm, they set out to communicate to the audience with a limited palate and, like Ms Standen – and some of the best poets who happily work within a strict metrical framework – use that self-imposed constraint as a spur to creativity.
In order to avoid the charge that it is a bunch of guys knocking out the same old stuff, reinvention is clearly the name of the game and some twenty-five years after its first outing the show is indeed still morphing as new performers come and go, but now with the confidence of having an Oscar performance and nomination under its belt.
Rhythms are sometimes dazzling in their intricacy and executed with wit and panache. ‘Instruments’ vary from matchboxes to oil drums: one of my favourites was a little number, performed in the dark using Zippo style lighters which created not only rhythms, but also clever patterns as the lighters lit.
They’ve gone to some trouble to introduce humour into the show and it’s surprising how much character they have managed to give each performer, who all go to it as individuals, but come together to make a whole greater than the sum of the parts. At times I was reminded of Laurel and Hardy, and with their take on a sand dance, ‘Wilson,Kepple and Betty’. The old saying of ‘everything including the kitchen sink’ has been taken literally in a cheeky little piece where the sinks double up as urinals (Duchamp again!) Latin rhythms vie with some stick-banging-updated-Morris-style pieces which would liven up any performances outside the pub on a Mayday morning.
I could have wished for a little more content – which is where Ms Standen scores, with her pieces having a context as well as a setting – but with such a highly polished and entertaining set of routines the audience can simply marvel at the immaculate conception and execution.
Definitely a show for all the family, and children, yes, you can try this at home. ★★★★☆ Graham Wyles 20th April 2016
