4 stars

****

If you want to start your afternoon with a bang, a boom or even a rat-a-tat-tat, then I thoroughly recommend attending Be-Dom at E4’s Udderbelly.  There you’ll spend an hour clapping and clicking along to the delights of these Portugese performers.

The show begins behind a large curtain, the backlit performers’ shadowy figures projected forward.  Soon enough the curtain is whipped away to reveal a space populated by a colourful array of, well, ‘stuff’.  A technicolour junkyard filled with TVs, bottles, barrels and buckets, all of which are used by the performers to create a wonderful sound.  Never has the term ‘tub thumping’ seemed more appropriate.   The choreography is wonderful to behold and the sheer joyful physicality of the performers engaged the audience throughout.  What seems ramshackle at times obviously took a lot of skill and practise to put together.

The show is divided into a number of different sketches and skits, all of which allowed the performers to develop a sense of their characters.  In addition, the gentle audience interaction allows you to contribute to the show in a delightful way.  The end of the show drew the crowd to their feet, appreciative of a genuinely entertaining hour.

Allow me to quote the highest recommendation, which came from the lady sitting next to me: “It’s the type of show you could recommend to everyone – you could bring your kids or your granny.”  Upon leaving the show a number of the younger audience members were tapping at various parts of their bodies, trying to recreate the sound that had kept them enthralled.  I fear for their parents’ kitchen cupboards, which will no doubt be raided so that they can ‘Be-Dom’ away into the evening.

Reviewed by Di

Venue – E4 Udderbelly

14.00 – 15.00