Stage: Rhythms from rubbish

Trash!
direction Yllana • music Toompak
with Gorka González, Fran Mark, Bruno Alves, Harold Gazeau
artistic direction David Ottone, Jony Elías, Gorka González
choreography María Rayo
set and costumes Tatiana de Sarabia
sound Nacho Ramírez • lighting Lola Barroso
Peacock Theatre, London • 18.Feb-1.Mar.25 ★★★★

From Spain, theatre company Yllana and percussion artists Toompack combine forces for this explosion of rhythm and rubbish. As with Stomp or Tapdogs, this show is a series of numbers performed using unconventional methods, in this case seemingly random items in a recycling centre where four outrageously talented men create an explosion of music and comedy. It's a hugely entertaining show, largely because the buoyantly energetic performers are having so much fun that the atmosphere becomes electric.

We meet these guys when they're in giant black bin liners, tapping out beats in the plastic before emerging to continue drumming on barrels. Because it's so enjoyable, it's easy to underestimate the talent we are witnessing, as they play with complex synchronicity and syncopation to craft layered textures of sound with whatever it is they have to hand. This includes tyres, toolboxes, umbrellas, basketballs, gas canisters and a vast number of plastic bottles. Of course, all of this is impeccably planned out and choreographed, but there's still a wonderful sense of chaos about it, most notably in the performers' comical interaction.

Along the way, each one gets a chance to stamp his personality on the proceedings, with witty gags, hilariously rebellious moments and bursts of song. They also speak to each other and the audience in Minions-style gibberish, which makes all four of them almost ridiculously endearing. This draws us in even further than the toe-tapping range of musical numbers, most of which feature genuinely jaw-dropping moments in which these guys demonstrate their expertise. And each one has serious skills.

It's impossible to pick a favourite moment, as the impressive musicality and goofy jokes keep the adults in the audience gripped and the kids giggling. With his rumbling voice and lightning-fast hands, Gorka González is clearly the leader, while Bruno Alves steals the show with cheeky bursts of anarchy and soaring musical riffs. Harold Gazeau has more energy than he can contain. And Frank Mark's marimba-style piece using bottles and a shopping trolly is a stunner. Then after some amusing audience participation and several call-and-response sequences, a flurry of sparks creates a triumphant climax.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Illana and Toompack: Trash! • 19.Feb.25 

Critical Week: Teach a boy to fish...

Critics caught up with Stephen Daldry's Slumdog Millionaire-style adventure Trash this week. It's a lively romp about three teens who make a surprise discovery while scavenging in the Rio dump. It's entertaining even if it feels badly contrived. The Wedding Ringer is a unexpectedly hilarious comedy starring Josh Gad as a groom-to-be who hires fast-talking Kevin Hart to be his best man. Thankfully it has a sharp sense of character and some very funny writing.

Gregg Araki's White Bird in a Blizzard feels oddly tame compared to the filmmaker's previous work, but it has a dark edge to it that holds the interest, even if the teen-girl set up (Shailene Woodley coming of age as her mother Eva Green goes missing) feels a bit overcooked. But it has a terrific sting in the tail. We'll Never Have Paris is an awkward rom-com starring Simon Helberg as an annoying guy trying to win his girlfriend (Melanie Lynskey) back after he botches the proposal. But he's so unlikeable that he clearly doesn't deserve her. And Hinterland is a microbudget British drama about two old friends (Lori Campbell and writer-director Harry Macqueen) who run off to Cornwall for two days to re-bond. Or something. It's so vague that it's hard to tell, but it looks great.

This coming week we have the much-delayed Jupiter Ascending (screening to press only a day before it opens), the Oscar-nominated The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Bernard Rose's The Devil's Violinist, the blackly comical horror Suburban Gothic, the real-life horror The Town That Dreaded Sundown, the topical teen romance Boy Meets Girl and the acclaimed documentary The Overnighters.