Stomp

Irresistible and overwhelming, the famous British company founded by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas arrives in Rome at the Teatro Olimpico, from 7 to 12 May, hosted by the Accademia Filarmonica Romana.

Now an acclaimed global phenomenon, Stomp involves and amazes. The show, in a mix of percussion, dance, music and theatre, is inspired by the thousands of sounds and noises of everyday life in a decidedly metropolitan atmosphere.

Without plot, characters or words, eight performers, formidable dancers-acrobats-percussionists, 'play' everyday objects such as lighters, matchboxes, bin lids, brooms, tyres, sinks in an artistic delirium of overwhelming irony: an electrifying rock event, but also a sensual flamenco, or a percussive tip-tap.

For the first time this year, the company presents two new numbers:

• Suitcases - which, inspired by almost 30 years of travelling around the world, stems from observing people walking through airports and train stations with their suitcases, and the baggage handlers who stack them, pass them around and occasionally throw them. All this combined with the memory of many film cues in which bags are mysteriously swapped.
• Poltergeist - which, again drawing from cinema, draws inspiration from images of films in which everyday objects fly around the protagonist, be it in Fantasia, Mary Poppins or Poltergeist, take on a life of their own and challenge a Stomper drummer who plays what is effectively a floating, choreographed and constantly changing drum kit, with only two brushes in his hand.

Born in Brighton in 1991 from the creativity of Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, Stomp boasts over thirty years of activity and success in the most important venues, festivals and theatres in the world, from Broadway to Paris, from Los Angeles to Tokyo. Among the many prizes that have immediately consecrated the company's success are the 1994 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Choreography and a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award also for Best Performance.

Photo: Stomp - Steve McNicholas

The programme may be subject to change