The explosive duo Ketch! and HIRO-PON all the way from Japan are set to blow audiences away with their furious and action packed show Rock On!.
This pair are unquestionably among the best physical theatre performers in the world. You can tell they have honed their craft as street performers; without the luxury of a captive audience they’ve learnt to work furiously to ensure the energy does not dip for a second and the crowd is enthralled from the word go.
Dressed to impress in sharp suits, sunglasses and sporting outrageous brightly coloured mohawks these masters of mime build perfect illusions and then shatter them just as suddenly. Mischievous robots, invisible stairs, energetic games of hide and seek crowd the stage. They take universally understood mime tropes and bend them to their will; redefining them and giving the genre new life and energy.
It was magical to watch these exceptional performers at work. They had the 500-strong audience in the palm of their hand within seconds. Gamarjobat speak the universal language of mime. Words are not necessary as the pair communicate effortlessly with an audience who understands every action. En masse you will be inculcated with delivering Gamarjobat’s stunts. And you’ll be thoroughly delighted. The show has no age limits; the young and the old are equally captivated. You could not have believed such perfectly synchronized audience participation was possible until you’ve been in a Gamarjobat show.
This was an exceptional five star performance for the first three quarters of their show, as the duo conducted their polished and exceptional routine. Then returning for an encore, the pair changed tack – out came microphones and guitars, and the gig switched into a comical karaoke-like performance. While it was fun, it lacked the punch and the professionalism of the first part of the show. This part was indulgent and seemingly endless and felt very much like an effort to make a 45 minute show stretch to an hour. The contrast created a yawning gap between the two parts of the show and they didn’t manage to recover the lost ground.
Despite this, the pair will no doubt they will be playing to packed out performances for the entire Fringe. Get a ticket while you can!
