BATS Theatre
September 11-15 | Reviewed by Kate Blackhurst

THE SMELL of beer and sweat gave an authentic backdrop to the opening night of Footballistic at Bats, as the cast threw themselves around with energy and timing that would be the envy of many a sports team. The basic premise is that it is a riot during a football match. Other than the very funny – and far more explicit than the BBC would ever permit – commentators, and a strange giant football outfit, the show had very little to do with the beautiful game itself, but was simply an hour of expertly choreographed and frequently humorous fight scenes.

From a bloke trying to wade through a confrontation without spilling a drop of his drink, to a section in which a couple of stretcher bearers give a whole new meaning to pole dancing, the choreography is powerful and original. A three headed monster fighting a video game with puppet legs was a highlight – who needs CGI when you’ve got artistic direction? The girl fighting sequence involves lots of screaming, hair pulling and eye gouging, with a pause to put in a contact lens. The stripping off and suggestion of jelly wrestling threatens to become a hackneyed macho fantasy until a brilliant twist turns the ensuing synchronised moves into one of the highlights of the show.

The fight scenes are up close and personal – a note of caution; if you are in the front row, you are literally inches away from the action – but even with blood and broken bottles in the final conflict, they are never sickening. The slow motion interludes imply real pain, with a broken wrist and kneecap among the most horrific of injuries, but they are rapidly interrupted by humour. There are perhaps one or two fight scenes too many, with the latter sequences offering nothing new, but the enthusiastic opening night audience were full of cheers and vocal support – proof positive that we do support the underdog.

The sound affects are excellent and the music is mostly effective as it surges and pulses beneath the punch-ups with aggression and adrenalin. The 1812 Overture, nowadays more commonly heard as a backdrop to fireworks, gets an explosive new treatment here. The simple lighting is also used to great effect as angular shapes thrown against the walls occasionally pick out a spotlight image. The team refute that they are glamorising violence, and in a tetchy Question and Answer session which goes hilariously wrong, they stress that violence is never the answer, although they won’t go so far as to deny that it’s cool. The ironic peace symbol is met with significant laughter.

The Out of Bounds company claim in the programme notes that they wanted to write a play that involved a whole lot of fighting, before deciding to use choreography and become “totally legitimate members of the dance community”. They have succeeded with this mix of Trainspotting and Kill Bill with a hint of Monty Python, which is indeed a show unlike anything you have seen at the Dance Your Socks Off festival before. It is clear that they had fun making it – it is fun to watch, even for a confirmed pacifist.