The boys of 2FaCeD last attended the Edinburgh Fringe in 2005 with an explosive breakdancing show, appropriately called Acetylene. The boys are now young men, and both they, and their show, have matured and developed.
Opening with a cacophony of sound, the audience immediately gets a glimpse of the visual treat to follow. Choreographer Tamsin Fitzgerald seems to have the knack of capturing the zeitgeist in her movement, and at the same time fully exploits the stunning physicality of these eight lads.
The industrial themes are still there, and you can still see evidence of the street dance roots; but there's also now traditional elements of movement at play and beside the hip hop, there's classical, jazz and swing. It's like the building site has had soft furnishings added.
It creates an interesting hybrid that's less tricksy than before, and pushes further toward the theatrical. It's sexy, without being explicit. It's clever without being contrived. And it's most definitely a crowd-pleaser.
The final couple of pieces were so powerful you could have hung a coat off the hairs on the back of my neck. Luke Evans - the youngest member of the team - started with a solo that was just beautiful and pure. It was followed by an upbeat ensemble routine set to a swing rhythm that had the audience clapping along all the way through to the rapturous applause at the close. Bravo.
