Bromance sees three young guys (the Barely Methodical Troupe) hang out onstage dancing, larking around and performing a few jaw dropping stunts and acrobatic tricks. The show starts with an edgy opening sequence introducing the trio to the stage and already you can tell that there’s an interesting and dynamic team at play.
Bromance is this troupe’s debut show and with this in mind it is a very strong production.
The themes of male friendship, bonding and even rivalry run through the show. It’s clear that the boys (Beren D’Amico, Charlie Wheeller and Louis Gift) have a huge amount of trust in each other. Their timing was flawless and their energy high during the acrobatic and physical hand-to-hand sequences. They made it look effortless as they swung around and over each other, perfectly choreographed. In a few of the circus stunts, such as when D’Amico balanced on Gift’s head, they looked a little wobbly but all of them were completed with performers intact. My heart stopped a few times when they flung themselves from the lofty height of Gift’s shoulders, but all stunts were completed safely and impressively, performers intact. The use of the Cyr wheel by Wheeller also stood out as particularly skilful, despite being quite a commonly used circus act.
They mingle their stunts with daft bravado, comedic scenes and transitions. Some of these are humorous but others were a little long or slow to progress. However, they kept the atmosphere light and let the audience and performers catch their breath. There were points when you thought something big was about to happen but then it didn’t. Though a bit of an anti climax, these moments did mean that when they hit out with something amazing it had much more of a shock factor.
Bromance is this troupe’s debut show and with this in mind it is a very strong production. Their storyline ideas could do with some work but the acrobatics are highly impressive and well choreographed. I have a feeling they’ll be back with an even better, even more acrobatic show soon.
