Theatre / Reviews
Review: Mayfest: Contact Gonzo vs Bristol, Jacob’s Wells Baths
There was a classic three-act structure to Contact Gonzo vs Bristol, but it was three disparate acts the likes of which have never been seen before – certainly never been seen before by an audience sat around a former swimming pool now with a sprung floor above it allowing the performers to run, jump and hit each other with reckless abandon.
Contact Gonzo made their UK debut at Jacob’s Wells Baths on Saturday afternoon as part of Mayfest and ensured that most of the audience participated during the third act which saw an intricate pathway of branches and twigs joined from person to person via hips, chests and even foreheads.
It was the culmination of a surreal, joyful and physical show from the Japanese company that fuse slapstick, dance, parkour and martial art.
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“Anarchic, mesmerising, terrifying and gloriously fun” – photo by Paul Blakemore
‘The floor is lava’ is a popular YouTube challenge and Contact Gonzo, who use YouTube to share their unique performance style, started this show with their own version of the challenge: taking it in turns with their new Bristol friends to enter the room from a fire exit, then avoiding touching the floor by climbing on top of one another, before passing various instruments along the line.
For this performance (which is being taken next weekend to the Tropicana in Weston-super-Mare) Contact Gonzo have joined forces with performers from Bristol, who seem to have become just as adept as the original gang as balancing on a fellow performer’s ankles as slapping them in the face or balancing a twig on a forehead.
After the sedate beginning, things burst into life in the second act with physical force. At times it was difficult to know where to look as the seven performers bounded around the stage throwing plastic bottles, hitting drums and swishing canes as they went.
It was anarchic, mesmerising, terrifying and gloriously fun. Thank goodness most of the performers had time to catch their breath during the stick-balancing third act because this was seriously strenuous and stressful stuff, with bodies being put through their paces in the name of art.
Contact Gonzo vs Bristol is at Jacob’s Wells Bath on Sunday, May 13 at 5pm. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.mayfestbristol.co.uk/shows/contact-gonzo-vs-bristol
It comes to Theatre Tropicana in Weston-super-Mare on May 19 and 20. For more information, visit www.thetheatreorchard.org.uk/contact-gonzo-is-coming-to-weston-super-mare
Main photo by Paul Blakemore
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