It’s a day like any other. On the street are four anonymous individuals walking through the city. They are at home in their surroundings and they readily follow the etiquette prescribed for pedestrians, especially when crossing the road. They know what good conduct is and that they should be well-behaved at all times.
A fabulously entertaining show that is rooted in the skills of contemporary dance and physical theatre
That is until one of them decides to rebel and WALK-MAN by Don Gnu comes into its own.
Soon the tediousness of everyday routines is shattered as a series of edgy stunts performed with muscular physicality repeatedly change the landscape, especially that of the zebra crossing. The dance choreography is integrated into a succession of movements that place the black and white boards into multiple configurations from their traditional format to springboards for leaps, tumbles and acrobatic feats.
The options for assembling the planks seem endless with the floor design in a constant state of transformation. The ways in which they are moved often provide moments of amusement reminiscent of early slapstick comedy or those times when you meet someone on the street who is coming directly towards you and you both move in the same direction in a failed attempt to avoid each other. Worse still you might just shoulder bang the approaching innocent and each rebound from the collision. The momentum is sustained throughout and the art of precisely placing the boards and positioning them is never lost. This is everday life transformed into design and artistry.
This original work comes courtesy of the company’s founders, the choreographers Jannik Elkær and Kristoffer Louis Andrup Pedersen.
It all makes for a fabulously entertaining show that is rooted in the skills of contemporary dance and physical theatre. You will never cross the street in the same way again!
