Having not seen the previous “Noise Ensemble” we really did not know what to expect and went along with completely open minds.
Think Ultravox (John Foxx version) do Coppelia, Doctor Who does West Side story and the Terminator meets Les Mis and you’re part way there.
Odd ly enough, the caretaker - Mr Bennett - who starts off looking like a bedraggled Blakey out of “On The Buses” -ends up the hero in this tale of factions of warring musicians from another world, which is delightfully narrated by an absently bodied Stephen Fry.
Apart from Fry’s outlining of the story, there are no words at all – no dialogue, no singing, more akin to a ballet in fact, relying purely on expressive dance routines and plenty of percussion as the story is told through a succession of musical numbers of varying dramatic gravitas.
But this is not just two hours of mindless heavy drumming by any means. In a well balanced score that could easily grace a Hollywood sci fi blockbuster, we have a drummers duel, a piece played solely on the triangle and a romantic glockenspiel moment . There are several enchanting xylophone melodies – bringing to mind dreamy images of tropical rain forests or trickling streams or wherever your own thoughts might take you, carried off by the music.
Awesome! Spellbinding! Magical! DrumChasers puts you in touch with the primitive being inside you, and in two of the numbers the audience were invited to join in.
We loved every minute – from start to finish a fantastic fairytale. Marvellous choreography – the grim set and the war scenes were reminiscent of Les Miserables. Superb performances from talented and versatile musicians/dancers.
If only we could somehow learn to harness the energy generated by the dynamic performers on the set of DrumChasers we could indeed save the world from nuclear meltdown.
This is not mainstream theatre by any means but all the same absolutely unmissable. Please go and see it.
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Drumchasers in on a national tour during March and April. For dates and venues, visit the official website at: http://www.drumchasers.com/
To hear an interview with cast member Stephanie Clark, follow this link: http://www.bestkeptsecrets.biz/2011/03/drumchasers-national-tour-exclusive.html
