Dance Review: Boing! @ Lilian Baylis Studio

By Laura Dodge Last edited 135 months ago
Dance Review: Boing! @ Lilian Baylis Studio

"If you want Santa to come, you have to go to sleep", state our blue pyjama-clad performers. But for numerous excited children on Christmas Eve, sleep is the last thing on their minds. In Boing!, dancers Wilkie Branson and Joêl Daniel explore this idea, stealing the duvet from each other and raging battles with their pillows as well as performing impressive hip hop dance movements.

At only 50 minutes long, the show is an ideal introduction to theatre for young children and takes the viewer into their enchanted night-before-Christmas world. The performance is delightful, but looking around at the faces of the younger audience members provides an equal joy. They are utterly engaged, at times open mouthed and expectant, at others giggling uncontrollably or calling out to say hello to the performers' teddy bears.

This A Travelling Light and Bristol Old Vic production is touching, well-performed, clever and humorous. It clearly appeals to kids but also evokes an often-missed childhood sense innocence and excitement for adults.

Boing! is at the Lilian Baylis Studio until December 31. Tickets priced £12 for adults and £7 for children are available from the Sadler's Wells website.

Photo by Farrows Creative

Last Updated 21 December 2012