Bounce - Insane in the Brain

Bounce's "Insane in the Brain" is a street dance take on "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and as such touches on insanity in both the individual and the institution.

From the moment it starts it is clear that this is a high volume, high energy production and up fromnt I would like to thank themm  for listing all the music used in the programme, around half way through I decide I wanted to the soundtrack and suddenly there it was all written out for me, Dizzee Rascal to Grieg!

Although street dance doesn't havce the established vocubulary of ballet, and avoids its extremes of discipline, the narrative was never lost in this piece - we could follow the relationships, plot, threats and humour without propblem - helped partly by the soundtrack but largely due to the expressiveness and talent of the dancers. Teamwork was tight when required and individual dances were free and relaxed. Some set pieces, like the early bed scene and the erotic dream sequence were superbly handled and overall this was a very fast, stylish and enjoyable show. I'm more of a ballet man myself but at no point did I feel lost or excluded from the performance.

There was just one bit that didn't work ... near the beginning there is a spoken/acted section which serves to introduce characters and break us in gently. No need, in fact after the hugely engaging madness scene at the beginning this brought everyone down with a bump, I really hoped that this wasn't going top become a dance and talk show - fortunately it didn't and after that one brief interlude the remainder of the storytelling was dance only .. well, except for the hugely amusing film sequence ;-)

The show lasts about 80 minutes, I'm not sure how the dancers do given the enthusiasm of their performances! It is a measure of the complexictyu of the show that at the end the cast not only thanks lighting and sound but made the crew put their heads round the curtain to get their own applause. Afterwards the cast and others allowed a Q&A with interested members of the audience.

There's only The Lowry left on this tour but Bounce will be back with this show at Thge Peacock in June 2010 to see.

PS: this is the first time I've been to the Wyvern in Swindon for many years - it always used to seem so unwelcoming and so unloved. Not so now, a very warm welcome awaited us and the theatre is looking bright and cared for. It's great to see a theatre like this and with so much l