Monday, December 24, 2007

Fuerzabruta - I'm Going To Use Brute Force To Get You All To See This - Review

Fuerzabruta - Daryl Roth Theatre - New York

I'm not sure how to write this review without giving away too much (although I can tell you "fuerzabruta" apparently means "brute force"), since one should basically see this show with as little knowledge as possible to the expectations of this show. But for anybody who has already seen De La Guarda 's previous show Villa Villa (more famously known as just De La Guarda at the time, the name of the Argentinian troupe that creates these shows) you already know to expect the adventurous, the dazzling and the crazy wild antics of some very energetic and sexy performers. If you have not seen their previous show though, just GO to this new one. My whole purpose of the New York trip was to see this show. That's how excited I was about it. I'll keep most of the pictures after the jump below, but just go see it!

As a whole, Fuerzabruta as the creator admits, doesn't have a story. As the website says, "Fuerzabruta is Today. It Is Not Theatre of the Future. Nor Does it Repeat Itself Time and Time Again. Fuerzabruta is Now. Does Not Invent Anything. It has No Purpose. It Is."

Whatever it is, it was incredibly fun, though I will admit it did seem to lack some focus and felt less cohesive than De La Guarda (Villa Villa). What Fuerzabruta has is some more impressively spectacular set pieces, though with less acrobatics, but much more equipment. From a man running on a treadmill, to a huge flipping fly swatter, to a human compactor, to the finale with the giant descending pool, Fuerzabruta jumps from fragmented scene to fragmented scene but what scenes they were!

Again, like the last show, there's some audience participation, and the show is viewed while standing in the converted bank space, and again, you will be required to move around. High heels are probably not recommended (and you will probably get a bit wet). But the 70 minute show floats by (like the ladies swimming overhead) in some hepped up dream/nightmare/ecstasy trip in an experience not to be missed.

Fuerzabruta - ****1/2 (4.5 stars out of 5)

Here are some pictures I had already posted previously:

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