Stomp is not a show you want to miss. The long-running physical comedy musical — created in 1991, based both in London and New York — opened at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Wednesday night and will be in town until May 4.
With its high-energy, split-your-sides-laughing debut, it proved to be one of the best performances I’ve seen in Dubai in a long time.
The dialogue-free show began with one performer coming out to sweep the stage in work clothes, covered in powdery stains. He immediately broke the fourth wall by glaring comically at late-comers in the audience, looking down at his watch and shaking his head. Already, the crowd was loosened up and laughing — it was clear we wouldn’t be dozing off in the middle of this.
The nameless man began to bang the broom rhythmically against the stage. One by one, his colleagues joined him to sweep and bang, building into a stunning, battle-ready musical piece that clearly required an incredible amount of strength and precision. The performers struck the brooms so hard you could see splinters flying into the air on impact; one stick even broke off from its head, quickly replaced by another broom thrown in from side stage. It was a ruthless, fast-paced melody that had us hooked.
The audience wasn’t told anything about the characters — we didn’t know their names or where they were working. And yet, their personalities shone through their body language and interactions, both with each other and with the crowd. They were, in turns, goofy, carefree, competitive, disgruntled, and downright hilarious. It felt like they were our best friends within no time, especially when they called upon us to help them clap and then hung their heads in exasperation when we couldn’t keep up.
One character in particular stole the show — the clumsy but charming young man who was always a step behind his colleagues, sliding onto stage late or missing his cue to dance in the spotlight. He was undeterred, even doing a few sexy poses and signalling for the women in the audience to call him. (In a particularly humorous skit, his friends infringed on his quiet newspaper-reading time and irritated him by creating a tune out of nothing but papers rustling. Noteworthy: a Gulf News issue was proudly on display.)
But aside from the on stage camaraderie and comedy factor, the beats that the characters coaxed out of the most mundane everyday objects formed the backbone of the story. The music built from tentative and exploratory to confident and relentless, convincing the audience that the characters were discovering these rhythms for the very first time.
They made melodies from matchsticks, lighters, rubber tubes, paper bags, pots, pans and even sinks filled with water. (Fair warning: if you’re sitting at the front, you’re in the splash zone and might get wet, if you should be so lucky.) It often felt like we were watching eight people playing a single instrument without missing a beat — they juggled metal bins in the air between them and passed each other shopping carts and basket balls as if it didn’t require the most precise hand-eye coordination and acute spatial awareness.
Yes, you might leave the show feeling inadequate. The closest you’ve come to spontaneously creating music was probably drumming a Bon Jovi song onto your steering wheel in the middle of Shaikh Zayed Road traffic. But if the standing ovation the opening night show received was any indication, you will also leave with a newfound admiration of Stomp, its creators and its brilliant cast. In a world where music has become increasingly tech-driven, computerised and over-produced, the show was a glorious reminder that there’s rhythm in everything we do, and that compellingly raw music can be made out of nothing and anything.
Tickets range between Dh195-Dh595 and are available through virginmegastore.me. Shows are on at 8.30pm with 4.30pm matinee shows on weekends. Contact 050-9652424 for more details.
