STOMP has become a world famous show, popular all over the globe, and this week Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre were lucky enough to have the unique blend of percussion, movement and visual comedy on its stage. I went in with high expectations, coming from excellent West End reviews and it is safe to say I did not leave disappointed. The STOMP cast definitely know how to put on a good peformance!
STOMP first started in Brighton in 1991, and since then has gone from strength to strength with a hugely successful run on London’s West End. The unique performance style incorporates everyday pieces of junk into a rhythmic spectacular, where you can’t help but tap your feet the whole way through. One thing STOMP does so well is providing the whole audience with something they can enjoy. You don’t have to be a fan of music or dance to enjoy STOMP, they truly bring something completely different to theatre and demonstrated this with a phenomenal performance.
STOMP runs for 1 hour 40 minutes without an interval and my main concern was I would become bored, tired and want to fall asleep. With a busy Fresher’s schedule I needed something to keep me awake and my goodness did STOMP do that, as I saw people doing things with a match box that I never thought were possible! They taught the audience that absolutely anything can make music and I am sure they have left many audience members inspired by the things that they do. They even managed to get the audience involved throughout the performance.
Many people would think the lack of a storyline would leave the performance dull and somewhat pointless, but the one thing that STOMP does so well is its use of different characters for each performers. This brings a fantastic element of comedy as you start to form bonds with each character and notice their somewhat quirky differences. Many people would assume that these people are simply dancers, but this is not true. They are absolute performers, they can play music, dance and act all at the same time and the audience can do nothing but admire them. They are not famous, and they aren’t big household names when it comes to theatre so it is nice to see an audience be so enthusiastic about a group of people putting on an amazing performance.
After 1 hour and 40 minutes it was evident that the audience wanted more, and the cast came on stage to perform an excellent encore with drums of all different varieties and they used it as an opportunity to thank their audience with a wealth of audience participation. There really is no faults to what these performers do and you can only give it a five star rating. The run only has 3 nights left and I urge everyone to support such an amazing cast of performers. Their stamina is shown off as they move pretty much non stop for a whole 1 hour 40 minutes. A truly enjoyable night.
5/5
Tickets can be bought here or from the Box Office directly. Students get £5 off with a valid Student Card.
