Whoaaa Steady! Leentje Van de Cruys/University of Salford, Martin Harris Theatre, Flare Festival, Manchester.

Photo Credit: www.twinkleglitter.com

Whoaaa Steady! was inspired by anthropologist Kate Fox's book 'The Racing Tribe'. Fox is an expert at observing English behaviour and defining the subtle variations within English class and culture. Whoaaa Steady! is more broad strokes than that. The style more Bouffonesque; all huge padded bums, phallic balloons and glitter wigs. They brought to mind the TV show Smack the Pony who were also attempting to unpick issues of gender through physical comedy and also, quite fond of equine themed sexual symbolism. The piece was tightly choreographed and full of ideas and playful images but in terms of their main themes could have explored them with much more clarity. Any exploration of the complex relationship between people and their horses was often rode roughshod over for the sake of the laugh. Its gender politics, shown through the different roles for the boys and girls, were also confused. The males were inexplicably half naked throughout and a pussycat dolls dance routine undermined the gender neutral performance style the girls had established. However there were some great performances within the piece. Most of the girls had nailed (or hoofed?) the horse mannerisms, their faces motionless as they blew their glitter fringes from their low lidded eyes. Ali Wilson was particularly watchable throughout and Ben Kristensen struck the right chord of cocksure fragility.