Brute Force

Despite mostly different content, Fuerzabruta is definitely cut from the same cloth as its predecessor De La Guarda; some kind of lamé presumably, glitzy but thin. Both shows have very similar technical strengths, artistic weaknesses, rockstar attitudes and short-but-still-somehow-much-too-long running times.

I certainly wouldn't want to deter anyone from going, because it really is quite good fun. It has sensation and spectacle and (provided you steer clear of all the trailers and such) surprise, just not nearly as much of any of them as it likes to think. There are some exciting ideas, some very arresting images, and if they were all squeezed into 15 minutes it'd be a fucking amazing quarter hour. Instead, they're milked for everything they're worth and then padded out with clodhopping revelry, mugging and milling around.

Even more than De La Guarda, Fuerzabruta makes an upfront and brazen attempt to create a party atmosphere; and to some extent succeeds. The action is very present, demanding the spectators accommodate it, and there's some desultory participation. But it's hard to escape the suspicion that the performers are having much more fun than the audience. (As someone with a circusy bent already, I'd like to have a go on all the equipment, but there's at least one extended sequence that I'm pretty sure every single viewer wanted to dive into.)

Ultimately, the show appeals to the idea of excitement a lot more than it manages to be exciting in its own right. That's not a bad appeal: as with De La Guarda, the punters -- an odd, pubby, clubby, office-outingy mix, at least some them looking like they've never seen anything like this before (and good on 'em, I hope they come back for more) -- gave every indication of lapping it up. It just could be so much better.

If there's the slightest chance of you seeing this, don't watch any promos first. Surprise certainly isn't Fuerzabruta's only virtue, but -- like being mad to work here -- it helps.

Like its forerunner, Fuerzabruta takes place in the Roundhouse, a marvellous legacy of Victorian railway architecture, which has hosted various culturally-significant events over the years and also figures memorably in my own childhood as the venue for workshops and crèches and such. The building has been tarted up for the 21st century with a nifty glazed add-on to make it more approachable, and this is its re-opening show. Given the Roundhouse's history, it's hard to imagine a more perfect launch vehicle than Fuerzabruta's shambolic explosion of semi-fulfilled potential promising so much more.

But now let's see that more.
Posted by matt at July 21, 2006 10:53 PM