5 Stars

*****

The ensemble 3RUN come to the Fringe with much hype and expectation – millions of YouTube hits, world records and the first staging of this street art form in the UK. There is also the promise of ‘spectacular entertainment’. Is that promise delivered? The answer is emphatically yes.

Eight performers, 7 guys and 1 girl, combine gymnastics, acrobatics and martial arts as they hurtle onto the stage which is set up with equipment based on those that feature in competitive gymnastics. Around the walls at the sides and back feature further performance areas. The gangways between aisles are used to inject speed as they sprint onto the stage.

Accompanying the action is a huge back projection screen showing film sequences The feats of agility and strength are timed to the driving sound tracks to maintain the fast pace of the co-ordinated movements. The intensity of the performance builds and builds. Prior to the finale, there is a chase sequence involving all eight performers which is bold and dramatic in conception.

The finale sees each of the performers doing their individual specialities encouraged by the clapping of the audience. Word must have got out that this is a show to see because even on a damp Wednesday in week 1, it was a sell-out.

Reviewed by Ben

Udderbelly’s Pasture: 300

3 to 29 August 2011 (not 16, 22)

18.20 – 19.20

Fringe Programme Page Number: 264