★★★★★

“when they play, dance, and show their extraordinary physicality, they are as one”

Drum TAO’s much-anticipated London debut and the UK premiere of their new show The Dream at the Peacock Theatre must be seen to be believed – on only till Saturday 15th March. Do not miss it!

The Dream is a cultural revelation, and the audience were in thrall from the second this hugely talented Japanese drumming ensemble of eleven supreme performers burst onto the stage.

This is musicality like never before.

As soon as one set of rhythms is played with the performers moving all the while to hugely difficult choreographed moves of athleticism, it changes up to yet even more extraordinary feats of precise and intense physicality and playing another unbelievable beat of beauteous drumming.

Taro Harasaki, Junnosuke Kodani, Haruki Kawazu, Kyota Sonoda, Koki Sato, Haruto Mizuno, Takumi Azami, Ryusei Ishida, Daiki Sakai, Shima Sasaki and Ai Anekawa are all titans of their art forms and performance. Their control and energy never let up for a second.

From small to huge Wadaiko drums, some even played whilst the player was literally sitting astride as if riding a stallion. There is every taiko-drum size in between, plus tiny lovely high noted symbols and the traditional Syamisen guitars being played as if they were at a rock’n’roll gig! Every performer could play every instrument. The connection between each performer and instrument, could be seen through their pure joy and abandonment to the sounds and rhythms they were flawlessly playing, drumming at speeds so fast that it was difficult to even see.

At one point two groups of four were drumming, dancing and circling round humungous taiko-drums keeping the complicated rhythms completely in sync with not a stick or arm movement out of place. And just when you thought you’d seen it all, fans, parasols, weapons or even the drum sticks themselves were used to dance in precise traditional Japanese style, yet always with a modern twist to their extraordinary technique and core strength.

There was also supreme poetry in sections of beautiful filmic melodies on the wooden Shinobue flutes and Koto harps; and the respect that the two females showed to each of their wooden flutes, literally cherishing it in their hands every time they finished playing was sublime.

This is contemporary Japanese performance, intertwined with traditional Japanese elements.

Each performer has their own hugely individual personality and boyband hair style and look, from bleached blonde and dark roots to ponytail and afro, to amazing front flick floppy fringe; and the two girls in the team with their long loose hair, could hair flip as confidently as the guys – every audience member had their individual favourite! But when they play, dance, and show their extraordinary physicality, they are as one.

The traditional Japanese comedy was true showmanship, with each performer knowing exactly just how far to push the audience as drummers went head-to-head in mock drumming one upmanship – and they got away with it because they were such brilliant percussionists playing such remarkable rhythms.

The male performers wore traditional Japanese shaped costumes which were covered in sequins, which was a bit garish – but hey they wear it well! The Dream is directed seamlessly by Ikuo Fujitaka, with perfectly matched lighting by Ryo Harada and sound by Kenichi Horiuchi.

A smile of wonder never left my face throughout this stunningly slick theatrical experience.

DIMANCHE

Peacock Theatre

★★★★

“the overall effect is to seduce us with a series of visuals that pack surprising punch, for all their whimsy”

The Belgian companies Focus and Chaliwaté have brought a co-production to the Peacock Theatre as part of 2025 Mime London. Their show Dimanche is a charming and whimsical piece of visual theatre, featuring puppets, humans, and sets that are both miniaturized and full size. The locations are as varied as an arctic landscape, a desert island complete with tsunami, and the house of an ordinary couple (with grandma) trying to adapt to climate change. This is a show for all ages. Children in particular will appreciate the cute animals which range from polar bears, sharks and flamingoes.

Dimanche arrives in London under the umbrella of Mime London, which specializes in finding companies whose work is hard to categorize. Curators Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig have teamed up to take the place of the London International Mime Festival, which closed in 2023. Mime London is smaller scale than the LIMF, but still adept at bringing intriguing work to brighten a dark and post holiday January. With well equipped theatres such as the Barbican and Peacock hosting the festival, it’s a chance for West End audiences to see work that is usually performed abroad.

The work of Compagnie Focus and Chaliwaté in particular resists easy definition. Dimanche features three performers who take on a variety of roles in a series of wide ranging locations. They work as actors, as puppeteers, and even turn into the locations themselves from time to time. The show opens in the arctic. We watch an intrepid film crew document the effects of climate change. Our parka clad team attempt everything from driving in a blizzard to crossing unstable ice. Sometimes the scenes are miniaturized, in which case the body of one performer becomes the snowy landscape. Tiny cars drive over the curves and precipitous bends, headlights blazing through the darkness. When the ice gives way, and the audience finds itself plunged underwater, a video projected onto a screen takes over the action. For most companies, this would be sufficient challenge. But this team is just getting warmed up. From arctic exteriors the audience is transported to a domestic interior where rising temperatures outside make even the most mundane of household tasks fraught with risk. From malfunctioning electrics to melting furniture, we see Grandma and her family attempt everyday activities as though the heat were completely normal. Only when the wind and the rain literally carry the family away do we realize that the joke’s on us. This is what climate change looks like.

Compagnie Focus and Chaliwaté manage to pack in an impressive number of climate change vignettes in just over an hour. They present their theme with humour and a lightness of touch that belies the seriousness of the subject. If there’s one criticism, it is that there’s no overarching narrative, which makes it challenging to tune immediately into each scene change. At other times, the scenery (and the show) seems a bit lost on the large stage of the Peacock Theatre. But the overall effect is to seduce us with a series of visuals that pack surprising punch, for all their whimsy. The ice is melting, polar bears are being stranded on icebergs, and further south, people are struggling with hotter weather, more violent storms, and seas that threaten everything on land. Dimanche makes its point while beguiling us with cute baby polar bears stranded on icebergs, and flapping flamingos caught in destructive winds.

Dimanche is a delightful show that teaches with its entertainment. Kudos to Mime London for making Compagnie Focus and Chaliwaté part of the 2025 line up. See this show if you can. It won’t be in London long!

THE DREAM

Peacock Theatre

★★★★★

“when they play, dance, and show their extraordinary physicality, they are as one”

THE DREAM

Peacock Theatre

Reviewed on 11th March 2025

by Debbie Rich

Photography courtesy Drum Tao

Previously reviewed at Sadler’s Wells venues:

THE DREAM

THE DREAM

THE DREAM

DIMANCHE

Peacock Theatre

★★★★

“the overall effect is to seduce us with a series of visuals that pack surprising punch, for all their whimsy”

DIMANCHE

Peacock Theatre

Reviewed on 30th January 2025

by Dominica Plummer

Photography by Mihaela Bodlovic

Previously reviewed at Sadler’s Wells venues:

DIMANCHE

DIMANCHE

DIMANCHE