Dance review: Stomp

TO SAY the performers in Stomp use everything bar the kitchen sink wouldn't be strictly true, given that halfway through the show four of them come out with sinks hanging from chains round their necks. As the water sloshes about the basin, they demonstrate that even a mundane task like washing up can have a percussive sound attached.

Starting life in Brighton in 1991, Stomp has gone on to become a global phenomenon. Its central premise is simple – that most objects have the potential to make an interesting noise if you hit them enough times and in the right order. Nothing used in this 80-minute show could be classed officially as a musical instrument, and yet everything becomes one. Matchboxes, plastic bags, folding chairs, inner tubes, a pedal bin – all this and more is used to create a rhythmic symphony. Entire routines are centred around reading the paper or flicking open a Zippo lighter, often with a good dose of humour. And it's no surprise to learn Stomp has worked its way through 30,000 wooden brooms since it began – when one snaps in the line of duty, another is casually thrown on from the wings.

Cleverly, directors Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas have built a degree of stage management into their show. When the aforementioned sink water wets the stage, it's followed by a routine with large mops. A shoe shuffle on sand leads into a display with dustpans and brushes.

However, what impresses most is the skill of the performers; everything is synchronised to perfection. One can only hazard a guess at the hours spent discovering new props and rehearsing such tight execution. Household objects will never look, or sound, the same again.