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Apocalipsync physical theatre review: Perfectly joyous

An enjoyable show from Luciano Rosso who increased his musical skills, and his following, during the pandemic

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Apocalipsync physical theatre review: Perfectly joyous

Skills come in many weird and wonderful flavours: Luciano Rosso’s is for miming to various sounds. These can be musical power belters, such as the deliciously melodramatic ‘Puro Teatro’ by Cuban singer La Lupe to which Rosso gives a RuPaul’s Drag Race-worthy performance, or simply the hisses and pops of frying eggs and showering. It was a talent Rosso (already an established physical performer) honed during lockdown, trapped in his flat with social media his only means of connecting with an audience. Before long he was garnering millions of views.

This show pays tribute to that period, with collages of TV and radio broadcasts about the pandemic interspersed with action ranging from the solitude of flicking through TV channels to hallucinatory centre-stage showstoppers. It’s clear Rosso can draw physical comedy out of anything, even the crackle of a half-empty water bottle, but he comes into his own when going full diva, particularly to a Mariah Carey number. But while the show has echoes of Mr Bean and silent clowning, it lacks the situational conflict that propels that genre along. There is no aim to most of the skits, other than play, which makes Apocalipsync perfectly joyous, but not earth-shaking.

Apocalipsync, Assembly Roxy, until 24 August, 5.25pm; main picture: Giovanni Cittadini Cesi.

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