Back in the day, tap dance was all about gracefully gliding across the stage to the sound of a full orchestra, maybe with the inclusion of the occasional “surprise step” for added interest, but that is all gone now and these days tap has become a lot more “industrial” with the emphasis on being inventive and nowhere is this better illustrated than with the simply superb Tap Factory.
As we enter the auditorium the sounds of the factory are all around us. The gentle hum of the machinery, interspersed with the sound of a rotary saw on metal, which, together with the scaffolding set, packed with a variety of heavy duty barrels, give a palpable feeling of the dirt and sweat that would be associated with such a place.
From the back of the auditorium we hear the sound of the janitor working, and talking to himself as he does so. The man is Jorffy Mayomba, a native of the Congo, who talks in a language that no one in the Tunbridge Wells audience can understand and yet, through the use of some very expressive body language, he manages to enlist the help of some willing “victims” from the audience, which provides a wonderfully comic start to the show.
Once he finally reaches the stage he is joined by the other cast members and, together, they launch into the first of many thunderous percussion pieces, The Machine. Using a selection of plastic and metal barrels, with large wooden hammers with which to strike them, the sound is both powerful and tribal and it makes a superb counterpoint to the supremely complex tapping routines that follow.
The group’s founder and choreographer, Vincent Pausanias, together with the incredibly talented dancers Michael Newman and Lee Meadows (the only English cast members) provide the tap routines and they are joined by the comic genius of Jéremie Champagne who plays the new guy in the factory, who gets picked on mercilously throughout the show but who also gets the chance to shine with his superb barefoot sand dance.
Andrea Catozzzi is accomplished in the arts of parcours and capoeira and he soon has the audience marvelling at his physical prowess and amazing skill. He throws himself around the stage with no sign of fear and lands, every time, just perfectly.
Holding the whole show together, with his near constant drumming, is Karim Torqui who, as well as using his drum kit, also shows that rhythms can be beaten out on any number of household objects, including the step ladder that he uses in act one.
There is one other cast member, but he takes no part in creating the thumping rhythms that are the main feature of the show. Instead, Polish Olympic gymnastic star Maciej Labutin shows off his tremendous upper body strength with aerial work on straps, high above the stage, and some incredible strength and balancing moves a little closer to the ground.
Being stunningly handsome, semi-naked, and in the peek of physical condition, he soon has the audience screaming and whistling their appreciation – and it’s not just for his talent!
If you were to take the showstopping parts of productions like Stomp!, Tap Dogs and Blue Man Group and refine them into one brilliantly produced, superbly staged, noisy, funny, ultra-macho dance and rhythm show the result would be Tap Factory – quite simply, the very best show of its kind.
***** Five Stars