Celebrating over 30 years of percussion, STOMP returns to Vancouver for four performances only at Queen Elizabeth Theatre from November 14 to 16. From the streets of London to stages around the world, STOMP has grown into an acclaimed, international sensation, performing in more than 50 countries and in front of more than 28 million people.
Created in 1991 by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP continues to tour the globe following lengthy runs in London’s West End, at New York’s Orpheum Theatre, and San Francisco, Boston and Las Vegas. Throughout its life, the show has continued to evolve with new material bringing music to everyday objects from shopping carts to plumbing fixtures or paint cans and kitchen sinks.
An overwhelming success from the start, the show drew rave reviews, sell-out engagements and numerous awards, including an Olivier Award for Best Choreography, a New York Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience and a Special Citation from Best Plays. In addition to the stage productions, STOMP has made an impression on the small screen with numerous Emmy award nominated turns including one win for its HBO special.
The performers “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” says co- founder/director Luke Cresswell. A unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, STOMP has created its own inimitable, contemporary form of rhythmic expression: both household and industrial objects find new life as musical instruments in the hands of an idiosyncratic band of body percussionists. It is a journey through sound, a celebration of the everyday and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum.
Synchronized stiff-bristle brooms become a sweeping orchestra, eight Zippo lighters flip open and closed to create a fiery fugue; wooden poles thump and clack in a rhythmic explosion. STOMP uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – dustbins, suitcases, radiator hoses, boots, hub caps – to fill the stage with a compelling and unique act that is often imitated but never duplicated.
Feel the beat as STOMP storms the stage November 14 at 8pm, November 15 at 2pm and 8pm and November 16 at 2pm at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton Street. Visit STOMP online for tickets and show details.