Stomp,

Oxford

Crashing but not burning The performers of Stomp bang, crash, beat, scrape and brush their way on to and around the stage at the Oxford Apollo this week.

This has to be one of the most vibrant and bouncy evenings for some distance, and one that appeals to all ages, to boot. In fact, boots have a role to play in this alliterative paradise -- a metallic melange, with a canny concoction of canisters and cartons, a blend of boxes and bags, a brew of brushes and brooms.

Not that it is all bashing and beating.

The performance runs non-stop for an hour and a half, and the cast not only works hard at the beats but humour is never very far away. And they make the audience work with community clapping, although some people needed a little practice on the opening night -- and others didn't try! (Well, they had to write notes for a review didn't they?)

The set, essentially a junk-clad scaffolding structure on an un-curtained stage, gives the right feel even before the start.

The entrance of one solitary cleaner and his broom goes unnoticed for the merest moment, but long enough for the audience just to have the slightest doubt as to whether he should be there. Then the soft shoe shuffle of bristles soon turns to a routine that is part dance, part tap, part martial art and wholly impressive.

A clever mixture of small and large percussive objects, from Zippo lighters to oil drum stilts, keeps the variety and the entertainment flowing from beginning to end.

More than ten years has passed since the first Stomp was created in Brighton, but the vitality, vigour and vim are still there.

The run lasts until Sunday, and, as well as a matine on Saturday, the cast performs twice on Friday night.