You can hear everything. Every slamming body, every shout to communicate movement, every cheer from the offstage cast. Everything. Time Machine is a movement piece by Elizabeth Streb & STREB EXTREME ACTION and they’ve put microphones on every surface so you can hear the impact on the cast all the way at the back of Her Majesty’s Theatre. 

And the audience are delighted as they watch this high-stakes game with large toys. Very large. Rocking wheel platforms as big as a truck are filled with the leaping bodies of the lycra-clad cast. Colourfully painted plywood sheets are manipulated around the stage. Trampolines launch all seven dancers in the air, directing their sass at their adoring public.

Arguably, this event is more aerobic than dance. Many of these skills would easily translate to circus skills and, encouraged by the relaxed nature of the lighting and sound, the audience frequently burst into applause just like a carnival. Each skill is bracketed with voiceovers pulled from media coverage and Streb’s own notes, taken over her four decade plus career, which creates much needed context for the punishing physical exertions of the cast. 

Time Machine, Her Majesty’s Theatre, run ended.