The Gogmagogs, Gumbo Jumbo

Review in Issue 15-3 | Autumn 2003

The classic cajun stew – where all available ingredients are thrown into the mix – is the inspiration for this retrospective style piece. A signature show, presented as part of BAC's Opera 2003 season, containing slices from the Gogmagogs' entire repertoire along with samples from five new pieces.

Lucy Bailey has devised a means to show off the best of the company's work without requiring a specific narrative thread. Those who are familiar with the company will know their combination of physical work combined with live string playing, creating a pleasing visual display with melodic accompaniment.

The most impressive examples of the company's signature style are in the cinema audience sequence; our string players view and react to an unseen film for which they also provide the soundtrack. Also impressive is the opening sequence, an easy-going visual choreography of disembodied hands, legs and feet glowing in the dark and moving to a pizzicato soundtrack.

The performers' grasp of both the physical and musical vocabulary is impressive and the combination of the two is uncontrived and natural. It would be interesting to see this method of working pushed to a level where the presentation is not quite so pretty and accessible.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. May 2003

This article in the magazine

Issue 15-3
p. 27