Edinburgh Festival

Be-Dom (4 stars)

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This article is from 2010.

Be-Dom

Joyous fun with Portuguese drums

As the huge white screen they’ve been playing behind in silhouette collapses to reveal what appears to be a junkyard full of cavorting, hunky (and fairly well-scrubbed) crusties, the tone is set for an hour of shambolic play.

Switching fairly regularly between broad physical clowning and bursts of foot-pounding, room-shaking rhythm, the Be-Dom boys make music out of anything available to them: plastic oil drums, paint tins, whistles, jars, and, thanks to some clever hidden microphones, their own fingers, thighs and faces.

There’s no real order to proceedings: you’re just basically hanging out with a group of freakishly talented (and did we mention terribly attractive?) friends, jamming. The rhythms they create out of nowhere are infectious, and they’re clearly having a great time, too. While their comic timing isn’t always as good as their rhythm – a skit set in a café is nothing more than an excuse for false moustaches and an impromptu drum kit created out of saucepans – and there are a few too many time-sapping costume changes, this is still an utterly joyous way to pass time.

Udderbelly’s Pasture, 08445 458 252, until 30 Aug, 2pm, £12–£14 (£10.50–£12.50)

This article is from 2010.

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Comments

1. Stephen29 August 2010, 2:12pmReport

Went to see Be Dom last night and they were outstanding.

I can't agree about their comic timing and costume changes. Maybe they've worked on that since the original review, but I thought it was seemless!

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